Blu, Jupiter and Company's Return to Rio: Double Trouble
by VPVPVP
Summary: Blu, Jupiter and company return to Rio for the summer. However, things go awry when Blu and Jewel's nemesis, and the murderer of Mercury and Venus's families, Nigel, returns for revenge. Furthermore, a group of poachers are planning on intruding into the Sanctuary de Amazon to poach macaws by disguising as ecologists. It's up to Blu and company to stop them and defeat Nigel.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi, everyone. VPVPVP here once again for the sequel to Jupiter and company's adventure in the Amazon rainforest and the third instalment of my Rio fanfiction series. Now our feathered friends Blu and Jewel and their chicks Carla, Bia and Tiago, together with Mercury the Lear's macaw, Venus the Spix macaw, Mars the green-winged macaw, Jupiter the scarlet macaw, Saturn the blue-and-gold macaw, Uranus the great green macaw, Neptune the hyacinth macaw, Pluto the glaucous macaw and Ceres the blue-throated macaw and all their mates and chicks, and Travis the sulfur-crested cockatoo and his Major Mitchell's mate Sunset and their three chicks all return to Rio for the summer.**

 **However, they are about to face the return of Blu and Jewel's nemesis, Nigel the cockatoo, who has come back once again for revenge on the famous Spix macaw family for the loss of his ability to fly and the humiliation that followed, and in this story, Jupiter and company will actually meet the deranged cockatoo for the first time, but the shock will be even greater for Mercury and Venus as Nigel had participated in their smuggling out of Brazil when they were chicks and had brutally killed their parents as well as cause the two poor macaws great trauma during their transport. We will find out how Mercury and Venus had been traumatised by Nigel later. As you will have read in my previous two stories, poor Venus went through a lot especially in the Amazon Adventure with the fire and the brief encounter with some of the flying foxes from Cicatriz's colony, all on one night, but she is about to go through another nightmarish storm when she comes face to face with the cockatoo that had traumatised her and Mercury when they were chicks.**

 **And that's not all. A group of poachers, having found out about the Sanctuary de Amazon and why it had been set up, are planning on entering the Sanctuary under the guise of ornithologists to illegally steal macaws, especially from the Spix, the Lear's and the glaucous macaw flocks, for the pet trade, and their poachers' disguise is so convincing that even Tulio and his team think they are genuine ornithologists. It will be up to Blu, Jewel, Jupiter and their friends including Dash, Veggie and their mates Ginger and Catina and puppies and kittens (now grown up cats), with the help of Nigel's three estranged children to blow away the poachers' disguise and reveal them before they succeed in capturing a lot of the macaws and escaping, while also dealing with the evil Nigel who plans on ruining Blu and his family's life and tearing their world apart in his revenge, and causing Jupiter and his group, especially Mercury and Venus, an awful lot of misery and terror, while the cats, among them Moggy, Otis and Hopper, plan on getting revenge on Catina after what happened to Brutus and their former owners in Rio 1 and a Half.**

 **I have decided to add to the summary here due to the limited number of characters you could have on the story's summary as seen on the list of stories of the Rio Fanfiction Archive. Alright, then. Let's go.**

 **Chapter 1- Blu, Jupiter and company's return to Rio**

It was morning in Rio de Janeiro, the sun rising from beneath the horizon and allowing its bright light to chase away the darkness of the night, as well as smother the light from the more distant stars. As the sun rose into the sky, the citizens of Rio and the diurnal animals of the Blu Bird Sanctuary rose with it. On Copacabana Beach, security guards and patrollers took up their positions prepared for any action in case any crime was carried out on the tourists, while in the buildings, the activity was increasing. At the moment there were a few cars and other vehicles driving back and forth on the road and there were only a few pedestrians moving from place to place on the footpaths or sidewalks, but as the morning progresses, that will increase and soon the roads will be swamped with vehicles and the paths will become flooded with more pedestrians going to work or taking their kids to school. In one house, two women had woken up. Susan and Lucy were preparing for another work day at Tulio's Aviary and had just had their morning shower. Now they were preparing for breakfast and Bible study, but they also had a family of cats and greyhounds to feed as well. While Susan and Lucy did their morning routine, in the cat and dogs' beds, a male light grey greyhound woke up, yawned and stretched his front legs. Beside him was his mate, a female ginger-coloured greyhound. Dash then crept out of his and Ginger's bed to stretch his back legs. After shaking himself awake, Dash turned to his water bowl to have a drink when Ginger woke up. Ginger also yawned and stretched her front legs before turning to Dash.

"Morning, my darling hound," she crooned lovingly. Dash looked up and walked over to her. He then lovingly nuzzled his head against Ginger's.

"Morning, Ginge," he said. Then as the couple broke away, Veggie the tabby cat and Catina the calico both woke up in their bed.

"Morning, you two," said Dash with a smile as the cat couple rose their heads. Next to Veggie and Catina, in a separate bed, Veggie and Catina's four kittens, or rather, former kittens, Broccoli, Collette, Daisy and Thomas were still asleep, as were Dash and Ginger's five puppies, Eduarda, Esperanza, Avellana, Danny and James, who slept in another bed next to Dash and Ginger's bed. Before, the kittens had shared Veggie and Catina's bed with their parents while the puppies slept in the same bed as Dash and Ginger but now the litters had their own bed for they had grown up over the past few months. Veggie's ears then picked up the familiar metallic rattling sounds travelling through the door from the kitchen and to the hall.

"Sounds like Susan is preparing our breakfast," he said, noting the missing food bowls that were normally placed near the beds.

"Yeah, she'll be bringing our food bowls through any moment," said Dash, "Let's wake our kittens and puppies up."

Ginger and Catina nodded in agreement and with that, the adult cats and greyhounds went and woke up their kittens and puppies. At this, the four grown-up kittens and five greyhounds all groaned and groggily opened their eyes as paws gently tapped on their heads.

"Kids," said Dash in a low voice to his puppies, "It's nearly time for breakfast."

Eduarda, Ginger and Dash's eldest daughter, allowed a yawn to escape her mouth.

"It's morning already?" she groaned.

"I'm afraid it is," said Ginger. Then Danny reached his left back leg to his left ear and began to scratch and itch away from under his ear.

"I've been having a strange dream," he moaned as he scratched his head.

"Really? What about?" asked Ginger. Danny sighed as he put his back leg down. "I've been dreaming that I was trying to some imprisoned birds from the clutches of a group of human thieves determined to smuggle them out of Rio."

At this, Eduarda, Avellana, Esperanza and James turned Danny's way.

"Imprisoned birds, bro?" repeated Esperanza curiously.

"What kind of birds were they?" asked James, "Macaws?"

"Some of them were," said Danny. He then began to shudder slightly. "But among the caged birds were a few blue macaws: one pair had three chicks; a family of five."

This sent surprise bubbling within his parents and siblings.

"What did that family of five blue macaws look like?" asked Avellana. Nearby, Catina and Veggie's grown-up offspring, Broccoli, Collette, Daisy and Thomas had just woken up.

"I don't know, it was quite fuzzy but one of the chicks looked chubby while the other two were slim," said Danny, "Like Carla, Bia and Tiago, Mr Blu and Mrs Jewel's chicks."

He then closed his eyes and began to shudder more. "And those macaws, alongside the other birds, were in utter distress and…"

Suddenly, Catina's voice interrupted Danny's explanation of the dream. "Breakfast's ready, everyone."

When this reached the ears of the cats and puppies, small excited yaps and mews filled the air as Susan walked in carrying the cat and greyhound family's bowls full of food. Danny, however, maintained his disturbed look while his four older siblings jumped out of the bed and trotted over to Susan, tails wagging. Dash moved his nose over to his youngest son's head and nuzzled its top.

"Look, son," he said, "Don't worry about that dream. It was just a dream. It's probably memories of Blu and Jewel's stories of their encounter with that hideous cockatoo called Nigel when they explained to us how they met, fell in love and their adventures in Rio before they paired up and had their two sons and daughter."

Danny felt his father's words calm the disturbed feelings within him and as soon as he had calmed down, Dash said, "Anyway, it's breakfast time. Can you join us please?"

Danny nodded and left his bed, walked alongside Dash and joined his four siblings as they ate the dog food from their bowl, while Dash joined Ginger. Veggie and his family had already tucked into their breakfast. Veggie, Broccoli and Daisy ate from the bowl containing vegetarian cat food while Catina, Collette and Thomas ate regular cat food from a separate bowl. The kittens and puppies certainly have grown over the past number of months. When they had been only a few weeks old, they had been rather small but now they were larger. The greyhound puppies had grown considerably. Their inheritance from either Dash or Ginger had increased as they grew. Eduarda, Danny and Avellana looked a lot more like their mother Ginger though Avellana's fur was darker, similar to the brown colour of hazelnuts, from where she got her name ('Avellana' was Spanish for 'hazelnut'). Eduarda and Danny had the exact same shade of ginger as their mother and the two greyhounds looked identical except for their eye colours. Eduarda had hazel eyes while Danny had sand brown eyes, lighter than his sister's. Avellana's eyes were a light baby blue. The other two puppies, Esperanza and James, took after Dash and had light grey fur. Again, they looked identical except for their eye colour: Esperanza had ocean blue eyes and James's eyes were brown. The greyhounds were close to adolescence but not far from it.

The kittens of Veggie and Catina had also grown larger in size and their inherited features had become more obvious. Quite unlike Dash and Ginger's puppies which were pure greyhounds, Catina and Veggie's kittens were a mix of tabby cat and calico. Veggie was a tabby cat while Catina was a calico cat. The calico inheritance was only visible in the daughters, Daisy and Collette, for the calico gene was on the sex chromosome. According to Blu, Bia and Ganymede, the gene was referred to as 'sex-linked', so only the female would have the calico pattern, though it had been reported in males as well, but this was extremely rare. Broccoli and Thomas looked exactly like Veggie and showed little or no inheritance from Catina. Thomas had blue eyes while Broccoli's eyes were brown. Their sisters, Collette and Daisy, however, looked like an exact mix of Veggie and Catina. Both kittens were white like their mother and had her black and orange blotches painted on certain parts of their body but instead of solid black and orange spots like Catina, there were slashes of black, orange and brown stripes smearing through the black and orange blotches which the daughters had inherited from Veggie, but Daisy had more of these stripes than Collette. The two cats were called 'caliby', a mix of calico and tabby. Daisy had baby blue eyes while Collette's eyes were hazel. Broccoli and Daisy also took after Veggie in food preference. The two did not like meat at all, preferring certain vegetables and vegetarian cat food. The kittens were almost sexually mature adults and had reached the end of their adolescence. As the young cats and puppies continued eating, Veggie watched them.

"You know something, sweetie," he said to Catina, "It won't be long before our offspring will be sold to new owners, especially now that our kittens had grown up."

"Yeah, I know," said Catina as she looked at her four grown up kittens and Dash and Ginger's five puppies, "Their birth doesn't seem that long ago. I can't believe the puppies are now almost adolescents. Time certainly has flown."

"I think it's about time we have them a talk about reproductive behaviour," said Dash, "Therefore they will be prepared for what to expect when they find mates and have their own kittens and puppies, and why they sometimes feel attracted to cats and dogs of the opposite sex. Our puppies had especially been pestering us for ages about how they got here."

"Don't forget that sometimes some cats and dogs are sterilised, Dash," said Ginger, "Especially if their owners don't want them to breed."

"Of course," said Dash as he realised this fact, "We'll have to include that in the talk."

Then Catina looked from one cat and puppy to the next. "Speaking of their change in size, their interests and personalities have also developed as well."

It was true. As the kittens and puppies had grown, their interests and personality traits had become more obvious. Broccoli seemed to like soccer, and besides his vegetarian nature he was very assertive and protective of his friends, similar to Veggie and Catina. Daisy was more timid and shy and did not seem to show any particular favourite hobby. Collette was fairly tough and had a love of anything brightly coloured, and had become into art and painting, and Thomas was playful, energetic and a little mischievous. Eduarda was a shy puppy but she is also fairly tough. Her favourite topic was mostly dancing. Esperanza did not seem to be into a particular subject but she did seem to be a little mischievous. James had a strong interest in music and samba, much like Carla, Justin and Io, and had dreamed of opening a music club only for cats and dogs when he left home to become the pet of another set of owners. Avellana was into nature and ecology like Bia and Ganymede but her understanding of the subjects was quite basic, and she only used a few technical terms. Danny was lovable and playful but also very timid. He did not like anyone, including himself, being in trouble and always ran off with his tail between his back legs whenever someone else was being told off for being naughty. Then as soon as the puppies and young cats had finished their breakfast, Ginger felt it was time for them to be given the serious talk about mating behaviour and having puppies and kittens. She would rather get it out of the way now than leave it till later, especially considering the limited number of days the young cats and puppies might have here.

"Right, you lot," she said firmly, "It is time for a serious talk."

When the words 'serious talk' reached the ears of the young cats and puppies, they quivered, especially Danny.

"Are we in any trouble, Mom?" asked Eduarda. Dash shook his head.

"No," he said, "We're going to talk to you about reproductive behaviour in us dogs and cats. After all, it is important information for you lot to prepare for should you, and your future owners, decide whether you will breed or not."

"Yeah, especially since you kept pestering us for the last few days about how you came to be," said Dash to the puppies. At this, the young cats and puppies breathed a sigh of relief. Then Veggie said, "Right, let's get prepared for this. As it is more appropriate that fathers speak with their sons and mothers with their daughters regarding this, let's split up."

And with that, Dash called for James and Danny and the three male greyhounds left for one corner, Ginger called for Avellana, Esperanza and Eduarda and they left for another corner, Veggie called for Thomas and Broccoli and they chose a third corner and Catina called for Collette and Daisy and they left for another private spot so that everyone else was out of earshot. While Dash, Ginger, Veggie and Catina began to give their offspring the talk about reproduction and reproductive behaviour in cats (for Catina with Collette and Daisy and Veggie with Broccoli and Thomas) and dogs (for Dash with the male puppies and Ginger with the female puppies), Susan and Lucy continued their morning routine. They had also had their own breakfast and had finished their daily morning Bible study. Now they were preparing for work at Tulio's Aviary. As Lucy made sure that she had everything for the day, she said, "Hey, Susan, you know some of Tulio's team members are going to go out to the Amazon to assess that recently discovered glaucous macaw flock?"

"Yes?" replied Susan, "What about it?"

"I'm wondering what the rest of us will be doing," said Lucy as she placed a clipboard into here bag, "But it depends on Tulio's plans."

"We'll have to see when we get there, sis," said Susan as she also packed up for the day. Then she remembered something else. "Oh, have you heard from our cousins Blake, Drake and Jake back in England?"

"Yes, they've finally completed their ecology degree," said Lucy with a smile, "I'm so proud of them."

"I also told them of the discovery of the Spix, the Lear's and glaucous macaw flocks," said Susan, "And they had been amazed to hear that there are so many other macaws like Venus, Mercury, Pluto and their mates and chicks out in the Amazon."

Lucy sighed as she remembered believing Venus, Mercury and Pluto to be some type of hyacinth macaws rather than a Spix, Lear's and glaucous macaw respectively.

"I'll never forget how we assumed those three birds to be hyacinth macaws until Francisco opened our eyes to the fact that they are in fact the species of three critically endangered macaws," she murmured.

"Yeah, I remember that too," said Susan. She then continued packing for the work day ahead. "Anyway, let's continue to get ready for work. I'm expecting a lot of important jobs for us today."

Lucy nodded as she also packed her bag.

Out in the streets of Rio, people were heading off to work either on foot or by vehicle. It truly was busy and the streets and roads were packed. While the humans continued their daily business, city animals were also walking around looking for food. City pigeons dotted various spots of Rio, chatting or looking for food while stray cats and dogs scavenged the bins and litter in the alleyways and streets, occasionally fleeing from anyone who spotted them and chased them. This sort of lifestyle was what Ginger had after she had fled the home of her abusive owner after releasing Roberto and before being adopted by Susan and Lucy to become the mate of Dash. However, these cats and dogs were soon to find a home and be adopted by a loving owner or family. While the daily and usual activities of Rio continued to flow, in Tijuca forest, the avian residents of the Blu Bird Sanctuary were also up to their usual activities, such as dancing to their favourite songs or foraging to feed themselves and/or their families. Mammals such as monkeys also foraged for food and sometimes caused a bit of mischief. In one part of the Blu Bird Sanctuary, the bat colony (not the flying foxes) in which a bat called Basil lived, were also starting their day. It truly was a busy time for the animals of the Blu Bird Sanctuary as well. However, some former residents of the Blu Bird Sanctuary will soon be making their return to Rio to spend the summer. A small flock of colourful birds, specifically parrots, were flying over the sea of trees and were not far away from Rio at all. The flock was made up of eleven families. Two of the families were Spix macaws. One had three chicks and the other four. The third family was a family of Lear's macaws with three chicks, the fourth was a family of green-winged macaws with three chicks, the fifth were scarlet macaws with four chicks, the sixth were blue-and-gold macaws with seven chicks, the seventh were great green macaws with five chicks, the eighth were hyacinth macaws with only two chicks, the ninth were blue-throated macaws with three chicks, the tenth were glaucous macaws with four chicks and the eleventh were cockatoos with three hybrid chicks with their mother being a Major Mitchell's cockatoo and their father a sulfur-crested cockatoo. Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago, together with Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto and Travis and their mates and chicks had come back to Rio for the summer, having flown for several days from the Sanctuary de Amazon.

Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago flew at the front of the group with Venus and her mate Zephyr and chicks Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil flying to their left. To Blu and his family's right flew Mars and his mate Chiquitita and chicks Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre. Phobos and Deimos rode on Mars's back for they were too small to keep up with the others due to their size. Behind Blu and his family were Jupiter and his mate Ruby and chicks Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto flanked by Mercury and his mate Sapphire and chicks Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette to their left and Saturn and his mate Orquidea and chicks Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus to their right, forming a second row. Behind Jupiter, Mercury and Saturn's families flew Uranus and his mate Esmeralda and chicks Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon with Neptune and his mate Ultramarine and chicks Triton and Indigo to their right and Ceres and her mate Cobalto and chicks Azul, Aurelio and Wilbur to their left. Then at the very back at the flock were Pluto, his mate Lapis Lazuli and chicks Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor, and Travis, his mate Sunset, and chicks Eustace, Milo and Rosa. Much like Dash and Ginger's puppies and Veggie and Catina's kittens, the chicks had all grown over the past number of months. At the beginning of the year, the chicks had been rather small, and the size difference between the two hyacinth chicks, Triton and Indigo, and the others had been small. Now, the chicks were bigger, and the size difference between Triton and Indigo and the other chicks had increased, but Phobos and Deimos were still rather small. However, all the chicks were still far from adolescence. Some macaw species, such as Spix, scarlet and blue-throated macaws, reached sexual maturity at around five years, while for Lear's and military macaws it was four years, for blue-and-gold macaws, the average was five years and for hyacinths, seven years. And while the chicks had grown, they will still continue to increase in size until they reach early adulthood.

As the sea of green trees below them continued to flow by and the familiar landmarks of Rio emerged into view, Blu looked up ahead and smiled.

"Almost there, everyone," he called to the others. He still had his fanny pack on him but this time; he did not use a GPS. Before and during the early parts of the journey, Jewel had insisted that Blu not take one of those things with him, remembering how it had got them lost during their journey to Manaus to find the Spix macaw tribe, especially how Jupiter's group had managed to find Manaus without the use of one, and without having to face the hassle of getting lost by flying all over Brazil! Jupiter and the others still found it funny that Blu would take such a human device when he had a mate who was born in the wild and thus had well-developed instinctive navigational abilities to help them find Manaus. As the group continued flying on, Zephyr and Venus, and Mars and Chiquitita who flew at the front of the flock with Blu and Jewel, also looked ahead, as did their chicks. Sure enough, Venus saw a rounded brown thing over the treeline.

"Sugarloaf Mountain," she said, "We certainly are almost there."

"Yep," said Mars with a smile, "Back to where we met our mates and had our chicks."

"When I grow up," said Alexandre who flew alongside his father Mars, "I wanna travel too."

"So would I," said Phobos who rode on Mars's back with Deimos, "But only with some of the other macaws."

"Well, I'm afraid you're still too young, you two," said Chiquitita sadly, "You're gonna have to wait until you are grown up."

"Exactly," said Mars, "Travelling by yourself or with a group of macaws is a huge responsibility. You're only capable of travelling now because you have adult supervision."

Alexandre, Phobos and Deimos all groaned. To Blu and Jewel's left, Venus and her family smiled as the cityscape of Rio gradually emerged into view. Brisa was not with them. She had decided to stay back in the Amazon with the Spix macaw tribe so that she could spend more time with Roberto.

"I'm surprised that Brisa has opted against coming," Venus said, "Maybe that's a good thing since Tornado and Gael completely lost both of you when those smugglers attacked, Zephyr."

"Yes, that's true," said Zephyr, "But also because she wants to spend some time with our friends that we have missed for nineteen years, especially Roberto."

"It's good to be back in the city where we first met and eventually became mates," crooned Venus romantically, "And our chicks' birthplace."

Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil all rolled their eyes. They sometimes found their mother's romantic voice, and also when she and Zephyr kiss, soppy sometimes. Zephyr, however, nodded in agreement and gave his mate a brief nuzzle. Behind them, Mercury called out, "You know, time sure does fly quickly. It doesn't seem like yesterday that our chicks hatched."

"That's very true," said Zephyr as he looked over his large clutch, "Soon, they will be adults."

Venus sighed, knowing that the fact was true. There will come a time when her two sons and two daughters will reach an age when they will leave the nest and possibly find mates of their own. Venus loved chicks and despite the challenges that came with being a parent, especially of a large brood, she especially enjoyed being a mother. However, Zephyr did tell her about the possibility of having a second brood when their first brood was close to leaving their nest. While Venus thought about this, Mercury talked with Sapphire.

"Do you remember the day when our chicks hatched, sweetie?" he asked, looking at Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette.

"Yes, I do," said Sapphire, "I remember it as though it were yesterday."

Mercury nodded in agreement as he continued admiring his daughters. He hoped that a son would hatch from a second brood for he would love a son, and he and Sapphire had plans on having future broods as soon as Phoebe and her sisters had flown the nest. Then Mercury moved on to something else.

"By the way, is it true that the Lear's macaw tribe is descended from that colony of Lear's macaws in the Bahia sandstone cliffs?" he asked.

"Yes," said Sapphire, "Generations ago, some of the Lear's macaws had left that colony to look for somewhere else to settle, presumably because of a dispute. After so long, they finally found the ravine our tribe lives in now because of the holes in its cliff face and we prefer our nests to be in a cliff face rather than a tree."

"My parents Thomas and Lola lived in a tree," said Mercury, "And I'm wondering if they are descended from the migrant Lear's macaws as well, but I don't know…"

Sapphire just said nothing in reply. Next to Mercury and his family, Jupiter wore a smile on his face as his mate and four chicks flew around him.

"I can't wait to see how our cat and greyhound friends will have grown up since we have last seen them," he said, "They'll either be adolescence or close to the end of it soon."

"Adolescence?" repeated Ruby confused.

"Domestic cats reach sexual maturity at around six months but depending on the breed, it is variable," said Jupiter, "While in domestic dogs, some breeds will reach sexual maturity earlier than others. When we meet Veggie and Catina's offspring, they'll have become young adult cats by now."

Ruby then looked at Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto as they admired the flowing scenery below the group. "I won't be long until our chicks reach adolescence too."

Jupiter then looked at his three daughters and son and shook his head in agreement. Next to Jupiter and his family on their right, Saturn and his big family continued to focus ahead on the emerging cityscape of Rio.

"We're going to have to think of where we're going to sleep," he murmured. Then a thought entered Orquidea's head.

"Oh, that's something we forgot to consider," she muttered, "The trees in which we stayed will have been taken up by another bird family by now…"

She then eyed Mimas and her six siblings and began to become worried and concerned. Behind the blue-and-gold macaws, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto and Travis also shared the same worry, though Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa already had a birdhouse. However, the cockatoos were worried about where the macaw families apart from Blu's were going to sleep for the nights. Then Saturn decided to alert Jupiter and Zephyr and Blu at the front.

"Guys," he called. Blu, Jupiter and Zephyr turned to him.

"What is it, Saturn?" asked Jupiter.

"Have any of you considered where we're going to sleep?" asked Saturn, "I have a feeling that our former homes well have been taken up by some bird families back in where we used to live."

"Oh, that's a thought," muttered Zephyr, "We'd never thought of that."

Blu then looked at him as Venus sighed. "Why didn't you lot choose to stay in a birdhouse rather than in trees like how we and your cockatoo friends did?"

Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago also gave Zephyr a look.

"We wanted to stay in a more natural home," said Zephyr, "But when we left to find the Spix macaw tribe and their neighbours after you had gone with Rafael, Nico and Pedro, we didn't have any plans to return to Rio at the time."

Blu then made a concerned look but Jewel looked unworried.

"We'll see what we can come up with when we get back to Rio," she said. Then Venus looked at Blu and Jewel and said, "Can't we share your birdhouse?"

This was met by the shake of Blu and Jewel's heads.

"Sorry, Venus," said Blu, "Our birdhouse is built to house one family of five only. There isn't enough room for another family."

"Certainly not for a family of eight," said Jewel. Then Carla, Bia and Tiago made a sour look towards Zephyr and Venus. They clearly did not like the idea of sharing their rooms with another chick and wanted their own privacy. Then Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil all sighed. At the back of the group, Uranus had put aside the problem for now.

"I reckon Nico, Pedro, Rafael and Luiz will be glad to see us again, alongside our cat and dog friends," he said.

"Yeah, I'm sure they will," said Esmeralda.

"Will Nico and Pedro be running the club still?" asked Miranda.

"Of course, my daughter," said Uranus, "That duo never tire of performing their incredible music and sharing it with their friends."

Beside Uranus and his family, Cobalto said, "I'm considering taking Ceres there for a night out, actually."

At this, Wilbur, Aurelio and Azul looked at him and began to beg.

"Can we come too?" asked Azul. Wilbur and Aurelio nodded in agreement.

"I'm afraid you're still too young," said Ceres sadly, "You're going to have to wait until you're a bit older."

"Yes," said Esmeralda, "That club is really for grown-ups."

"Especially since we might be out until very late," said Uranus. As he said this, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon also groaned.

"Carla and Justin wanted to go to the club as well," said Ariel, "But fat chance."

Her three sisters and brother all groaned in agreement. On Uranus and his family's other side, Neptune said, "You know, Cobalto, I think that's a good idea to have some lone time together as couples in Nico and Pedro's club."

Then he looked at Triton and Indigo who also wore sad looks on their faces that they could not go to the club. "But we are going to need babysitters to watch over our kids while we're out those nights."

"If you're thinking of Rafael and Eva," said Lapis Lazuli behind them, "You can scrap that idea."

Neptune shot Lapis Lazuli a confused look.

"They were very poor at disciplining their kids," said Ultramarine with a frown, "And because of that, not many of us trust them to babysit our kids at all."

"Ónix, our red tailed black cockatoo friend," said Pluto, "Will be very busy as well, and Dash and Veggie aren't particularly keen on looking after our chicks for they don't see it as very natural for dogs and cats, especially cats, to look after baby birds."

"Good point," said Travis. Then Sunset had an idea.

"I know, why don't Travis and I take up that duty?" she asked. Heads turned in her direction.

"But Sunset," said Uranus, "How are you going to deal with Saturn and Venus's large broods?"

"You will need extra help with looking after those chicks," said Pluto firmly, glancing briefly at Blueberry, Quincy, Charon and Flor and making sure that all four chicks were present, "You'd probably have little to no problem looking after the broods of the others but Venus and Saturn's large broods…"

Suddenly, Blu's voice cut Pluto off. "Here we are everyone!"

At this, Pluto broke off the conversation and looked down at the flowing land below the group. Travis, Sunset, Lapis Lazuli and the others including the chicks did the same. Sure enough, the familiar sea of brown, grey and white mottled cityscape of Rio bordered by the azure crystalline surface of the ocean separated by a thin beige line emerged into full view. The Christ the Redeemer statue stood magnificently over the city atop a blob of green and grey piece of land. The group all smiled as they admired the familiar city.

"Good to be back here for a change," breathed Blu. Zephyr shot him a slight glare.

"I hope you're not going to return to your human-like lifestyle, pal," he muttered. Blu shot him a surprised glare while Jewel let loose a sigh, agreeing with Zephyr's statement.

"We're not going to be having you feeding our chicks stuff like pancakes with cream," added Venus, "That is not the stuff we eat."

Carla, Bia and Tiago, at this, shot Venus a slightly sour glare.

"Hey, we love pancakes!" muttered Carla.

"Especially with cream and grapes," added Tiago.

"You ought to try some," said Bia. When Justin and Charlotte heard this, they looked at their parents with hopeful smiles. Matilda and Virgil, however, didn't agree.

"Can we, Mom and Dad?" asked Charlotte hopefully but Zephyr, a frown marking his face, shook his head.

"It's human food," he said firmly, disgust tinting his voice, "It's not something we macaws should eat."

"Yes, the proper food should be fruit, nuts and insects," said Venus, "Our owners knew that we had to have the right food to stay healthy when we were their pets."

Jupiter let loose a sigh. "We did get to try a few human foods at one point, Venus. Remember that I tried a cracker once."

Zephyr turned his head so sharply at Jupiter as though a spring had snapped in his neck.

"You've tried crackers!?" he almost shouted incredulously. Ruby then gave Jupiter a look.

"Roberto, when he was kept as a pet," she said, "Was forced to eat those things by his abusive owner. And believe me, he absolutely detested them."

"Yes," said Jewel with a frown, "Bland, disgusting, sickly things, he called them."

Ruby then shuddered as she remembered her time as a pet when she was forced to perform in shows and certain films while Jupiter shrugged.

"Our owners were trying to see which food we liked and which food we didn't like," he explained, "Of course, I wasn't keen on the crackers so Susan, Lucy, Blake, Jake and Drake had crossed that off the list."

"Our owners were careful not to feed us the wrong sort of food like chocolate," said Saturn, "As that is toxic to us macaws."

"There's a special chocolate made especially for pets if you want to try it," said Blu, "I know Linda used to make cookies with chocolate chips of that type for me when I lived in Minnesota…"

"Please!" shouted Jewel, cutting Blu off, "We're getting side tracked."

At this, all heads turned to Jewel as Jupiter then said, "Let's just get settled here first as we've just arrived in Rio. Where are we going to first, Jewel?"

"Our birdhouse, at Tulio and Linda's cottage," said Jewel, "And then we'll go to your former owners' home."

"Sounds good," said Zephyr.

"I would love to see your birdhouse," said Venus, "Haven't seen it in a while."

"Then let's go there," said Mars. The others all shouted in agreement and with that, Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago all led the group in the direction of Tulio, Linda and Fernando's cottage.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2- a warning to Nigel**

Back in Susan and Lucy's cottage, Susan and Lucy were preparing to leave, having gathered all their equipment they would need for the job ahead. Dash, Ginger, Catina and Veggie and their puppies and grown-up kittens had all regrouped after having the big talk about cat and dog reproductive behaviour. As the group watched their two owners continue to get ready for work, Susan's eyes were captured by their presence.

"Hey, Lucy," she said, "When are we going to consider the sale of our greyhounds and cats' offspring to other people? They're just about ready to be sold on."

"Shall we discuss that when we get back?" asked Lucy, "We've a very busy day today…"

Suddenly, a musical tune emitted from something in Susan's pocket. At this, Susan reached into the pocket and took out her mobile phone. As she pressed the 'Answer' button and began to speak to the caller, Dash said, "That's got to be Tulio I believe. Now that the flock of glaucous macaws had been discovered and are now under strict protection on the Sanctuary, Tulio might be asking for certain ornithologists to go out and study those macaws."

"For a species of macaw believed to be extinct in the wild for decades," said Ginger, "I'm not surprised."

"I would love to visit the Amazon to see the various species of macaws and other animals," murmured Avellana dreamily, knowing that this ambition would be impossible to be fulfilled, "But the Amazon is just too dangerous for us domestic cats and dogs."

"I'm afraid it is, daughter, dear," said Ginger sadly, "There are all sorts of dangerous predators that lurk around every corner in the Amazon bush. Jaguars, snakes that can swallow prey the size of us whole, and amphibians that secrete highly toxic chemicals onto their slim as a defence against predators…"

Avellana shuddered. She clearly didn't enjoy the image of herself being strangled by a snake and then swallowed whole. But despite the disappointment, she was glad that she was unable to go into the Amazon rainforest anyway. However, Avellana had other aspirations. She wanted to start a class for the city's kittens and puppies and become a teacher when she was sold to another owner or owners much like how one of her brothers James wanted to open a music club exclusively for cats and dogs. Ginger smiled at her five offspring.

"You know something, sweetie," she said to Dash, "I think our puppies will make excellent pets when they get new owners."

"Yeah, I know," said Dash with a loving lean onto Ginger's head, "We're gonna miss them."

Ginger smiled and nuzzled against Dash's shoulder. Then Veggie said, "Well, I think we're going to go out for a walk. I could do with some fresh air and some lone time with my lovely sweet Catina if she would like to come."

"Oh, I would love to," said Catina. She then shot a glance at Lucy and Susan who talked on the mobile phone. Based on the voice picked up by Dash and Ginger's quite keen hearing, it was Tulio.

"I don't think either Susan or Lucy have any plans to take Dash or Ginger out for a walk this morning," she said. Then Catina turned to the two greyhounds. "Would you mind babysitting our grown-up kittens while we go out for a short walk?"

"Oh, sure," said Dash with an obliged smile, "We're always ready to babysit your kittens anytime."

"Yeah but as much as we like to babysit your puppies when you two want some lone time together," said Catina, "We sometimes find it difficult to handle your pups' energetic and occasionally reckless behaviour. We narrowly saved a vase from smashing onto the floor when Danny accidentally knocked it over by playing around with a small ball."

And with that, he shot Danny a frown, making Danny cringe and back away against Dash's side. He clearly remembered barging past a highly expensive vase placed on the hearth of the unreal fireplace while chasing after the ball, knocking it over and forcing Veggie and Catina to leap in and save the ornament from shattering onto the floor in time. After this, Veggie had scolded Danny more fiercely than he had intended, making Danny dive behind the sofa and not emerge until Dash and Ginger returned. This incident had happened when Dash and Ginger had gone out to spend some time together and when Susan and Lucy were at work, and Veggie and Catina were left to watch over the five puppies besides their four kittens. However, greyhound puppies were at times not easy to keep under control, especially for cats. Though Veggie and Catina liked to babysit Dash and Ginger's puppies, the two often found it difficult to discipline the highly energetic puppies, made more difficult with their four kittens to care for as well. Dash and Ginger were better able at handling their puppies than Veggie and Catina and since that near vase-shattering incident; Veggie had told Dash and Ginger that he and Catina will only babysit their puppies only when Susan and Lucy were at home to prevent any more accidents, therefore the two cats would have extra support and eyes to watch over the five puppies and the four kittens at the same time. Since then, the chances of an accident happening such as an ornament getting broken had been vastly reduced. While Veggie and Catina prepared to leave, Susan came into the room.

"I've just had a call from Tulio," she told Lucy, "He's going to organise a team, with himself as the leader that will go out into the Amazon and study the glaucous macaws in a few days' time. Jobs will include estimating the number of macaws in the population and the number of chicks, and studying their behaviour…"

The cats and greyhounds looked at each other as Lucy replied.

"Sounds like our mistresses have plenty of hard work out in the Amazon Sanctuary," said James.

"Yeah, some members will be checking the health of the macaws while some will be counting the individuals," said Broccoli.

"Haven't the number of glaucous macaws in that flock been estimated yet?" asked Daisy.

"That's why Tulio and the team of selected ornithologists are going to go out into the Sanctuary de Amazon, you two," said Ginger, "So it seems like the size of the glaucous macaw populations has not yet been estimated."

"Well, as soon as it is," said Dash, "It will give the ornithologists and conservationists a better idea of the flock's gene diversity as well as the population's reproductive fitness."

"Reproductive…?" asked Ginger confused.

"If a population is too small," explained Avellana, "The offspring of the individuals of that population are more prone to being less able to survive and reproduce to produce fit offspring due to a low diversity of genes in the population's gene pool. if the population of large, the chances of most of the offspring being unfit with the low chance of surviving and reproducing is reduced."

Dash smiled. "You certainly have had your nose in that ecology book, Avellana."

"She's almost the canine version of Blu, Bia and Ganymede," said Veggie. He then shot a glance at the door and the flap on the bottom of the door. The flap was large enough for Dash and Ginger to exit as well as for Veggie and his family, and the puppies. "Anyway, we're off. I'm itching to get some fresh air in my lungs and my leg muscles some exercise."

"Well, let's go," said Catina. Then before she and Veggie left for the flap, Catina turned to Thomas, Collette, Daisy and Broccoli and said, "Now you four be good and respect your greyhound babysitters until we get back. Understand?"

Broccoli, Daisy, Collette and Thomas all nodded while Avellana, Eduarda, Esperanza, James and Danny said goodbye to Catina and Veggie. With a smile of satisfaction that her grown-up kittens would behave, Catina turned and followed Veggie towards the flap.

"We'll be back in around half an hour," said Veggie as he put his front paws through the flap, "Make sure you look after our four grown-up kittens, won't you?"

"We will," said Dash.

"Have a nice and safe walk," said Ginger. Then within moments and two flap noises of the door flap, Veggie and Catina were gone. Dash sighed and looked over the nine young cats and dogs. "Well, while those two are away, we're going to have to think of things to do."

"Yep," said Ginger. Just then, Susan walked by to pet the greyhounds and the cats. Dash, Ginger, Avellana, Esperanza, James, Danny and Eduarda all barked excitedly and began to wag their tails. Broccoli, Thomas, Daisy and Collette also mewed and began to try and fuss against Susan's legs. While Susan began to say goodbye to the pets, Lucy checked the cat and dog beds and food and water bowls, as well as the tray where the cats and dogs would go to toilet when needed to see if they wanted changing. Satisfied that they don't require changing yet, Lucy left to say goodbye to the cats and dogs as well. The group of greyhounds and cats then moved from Susan to Lucy who then began to pet them as they either wagged their tails or fussed against her legs.

"Now you lot be good, my cats and greyhounds," said Lucy as she fussed Dash's head with her hands, "We'll be back in the afternoon. We've got a busy day today besides being prepared to be selected by our boss Tulio to go out into the Amazon to study the glaucous macaws but in the meantime, we have the usual jobs to do at Tulio's Aviary…"

Dash and company understood what Lucy meant. The main duties at Tulio's Aviary included treating injured birds and nursing them back to health, and checking the habitat of the Blu Bird Sanctuary. Then as soon as she had finished petting and fussing the other dogs and cats, Lucy stood up and left, Susan close behind. As they got their coats and out them on, Susan took one last look at the cats and dogs as the group sat and watched them leave.

"Bye, Dash, Ginger, the rest of you," said Susan, "We'll be back in the afternoon."

And with that, she opened the door and walked through it. Lucy followed and soon, the door was closed, a click of the lock heard as Lucy locked the door.

"Well, I hope they have a good day," said Dash. Then Ginger clapped her front paws to get the five puppies and four young adult cats' attention.

"Right, what do you guys want to do for the day?" she asked with a smile. Eduarda, Esperanza, Avellana, James, Danny and Broccoli, Thomas, Collette and Daisy all looked at her and smiled as they began to think of the activities.

A while later, while Susan and Lucy were walking to work and the usual activities of the city streets and roads were flowing, somewhere in one street, a bedraggled looking bird was looking for something to eat. The bird had white feathers with grey strewn through them, tattered wings, a green and yellow vest around its torso and red bags under its eyes. Its eyes were brown and it had a tattered pale yellow crest on its head. This bird was the same species as Travis but much older, and tis brown eyes were full of hunger. However, those eyes were not fixated on fruit on a fruit stand, but slabs of meat in the window of a butcher's shop. As the brown eyes of the cockatoo bore into the tasty pieces of pork, chicken and beef on display in the front window, drool dripped disgustingly from its beak and the tongue painted saliva around the mouth as the cockatoo licked with its tongue hungrily. Its stomach was growling and it was famished.

"Hmmmm," crooned the sickly cockatoo as his eyes burned with hunger, mesmerised by the tasty slabs of meat, "If only I could enter that shop and snatch a piece of meat, I'd be able to shut my stomach up…"

Surprisingly, passers-by did not notice the cockatoo named Nigel's presence and just continued walking on. Then Nigel began to formulate a plan on pinching a piece of meat from the butcher. The sickly cockatoo's eyes then travelled to the entrance of the shop. The door was open, much to his gladness. With an evil grin, Nigel began to prepare to enter the shop and steal a piece of meat and crept towards the door, where he backed against the wall and looked in. Making sure that no-one was looking and that the busy butcher and the shop assistants, and the browsing customers had their backs turned, Nigel made his move and tiptoed into the shop. A few minutes had passed after Nigel had entered the butchers but what happened next startled everyone. Cries and yelps of surprise and shock, along with angry shouts, erupted from within the building and within moments, a white, green and yellow blur dashed out from the entrance of the shop like a dog, a large chicken drumstick in its beak. The butcher came rushing out with a cleaver in his hand in pursuit of the cockatoo, shouting and swearing in Brazilian Portuguese as he chased Nigel out of his shop. Passers-by looked on in surprise as they watched the shop owner pursue the white, green and yellow blur for a few seconds before finally giving up and stopping. Nigel, with a triumphant grin on his face, continued running, his beak clamped on the bone of the super large chicken leg. As he continued running with his legs beating like pistons, some of the pedestrians, upon seeing the bird, jumped or leapt out of the way. Nigel kept on running and running until he finally came to an alleyway. He turned the corner and rushed into the relatively deserted and messy area. As soon as he felt that he was safe and well hidden from the pedestrians outside, Nigel slowed to a stop, puffing and panting from all that running. Then as soon as he had got his breath back, Nigel sank his beak greedily into the chicken drumstick and tore off a piece of the meat. Then he chowed down the piece like a gannet, his eyes burning with pleasure from the taste of the meat. After swallowing the piece, Nigel began to murmur and lament. His mind began to bubble with thoughts about something else.

"If only that frog Gabi hadn't made a fool out of me in front of those blue birds of my misery, particularly Blu," he growled, tearing another huge piece of meat from his stolen chicken leg like an eagle would its prey, "I would have got my revenge on that filthy blue macaw for reducing me to this tattered mess, and making my life miserable."

Then the most disgusting and gory things began to spill out of Nigel's beak as he began to wish what sort of method he could execute on Blu and Jewel as he continued greedily eating, as well as continue to take his rage out on all exotic birds. However, these sickening words were not going to go unheard of by two certain feline friends of Blu and company. Not too far away, at the entrance of the alleyway where Nigel was, a female calico and a male tabby strolled along, talking.

"Have you ever thought about having a second brood of kittens now that our first brood had grown up?" asked the tabby cat, Veggie.

"I did think about it but I'm still quite uncertain," said Catina, the calico, "You see, we cats are, after all, the natural enemies of birds including macaws…"

"True," said Veggie in agreement.

"…And even though you're vegetarian and the bird meat I generally eat is chicken," said Catina, "Any future kitten that we have may still be dangerous to birds, and that is not a very good idea to have our new kittens around Jupiter and his group should they ever decide to come back here to visit us…"

Veggie replied with an agreeing look. It was true. The majority of cats would often catch and eat birds, for it was in their instinct to do so. Cats that are bird friendly were very, very few and far between and though Catina and Veggie were glad that macaws or any other exotic birds did not appeal as a meal to any of their kittens, with Broccoli and Daisy being vegetarian and Thomas and Collette preferring chicken and cat food like how Catina does, the possibility of any future kittens Veggie and Catina had being a danger to the macaws and other birds including Travis and his family remained, and that was something Veggie wanted to avoid, for the macaws were his friends despite the natural predator-prey relationship cats and most birds had.

"It's a pretty tough decision, I must admit," continued Catina, "But at the end of the day, it is up to our owners Susan and Lucy to continue breeding us or have us sterilised."

"That would be a good idea," said Veggie, "It would eliminate the risk to any future pet bird Susan and Lucy might have, as well as to our current feathered friends."

"But if they do decide to continue breeding us, Veggie, they might give Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Rosa and Milo to another owner who does not have cats. Therefore, it will protect that cockatoo family from the risk of kittens attacking them."

"Yeah, absolutely, Catina. The last thing I want is any of my offspring attacking any of our feathered friends. But the sterilising idea seems more appealing to me but like you've said, it's our owners' decision by the end of the day."

Catina nodded in agreement. Then the feline couple continued walking on but before they could completely pass the entrance to the alleyway, Catina's sensitive ears picked up some odd sounds. At this, she stopped much to Veggie's surprise.

"What is it?" asked the tabby in confusion. Catina's paw shot up in a 'Shush!' gesture. Then Veggie stopped and listened. The sounds were the sounds of groaning and complaining, like that of someone having a bad day and moaning about the mishaps and the irritations that had happened on it. Then Catina's facial expression changed. Her blue eyes transformed from puzzled to suspicious as the calico recognised those complaining sounds. Then Catina began to pace into the alleyway to trace the sounds' source. Veggie followed.

"Catina?" he asked. Catina did not reply and continued scanning the alleyway with her suspicious eyes.

"I hope it's not who I think it is," she growled softly to Veggie. Veggie stopped with a perplexed look on his face.

"Who?" he asked. Catina just gave him a look and continued scanning the alley for the source of the sounds. Confused, Veggie followed. The two cats continued scanning the surroundings until finally, Catina's blue eyes landed on the source. The moment they did, suspicion transformed to anger and disgust. Veggie came in. "What is… ugh!"

The moment his eyes landed on the source of the sounds, which was a tatty white feathered form in a green and yellow outfit, Veggie flinched in surprise. Meanwhile, Nigel continued muttering and complaining about Blu and Jewel and how they had reduced him to becoming flightless while continuing to eat his chicken drumstick, unaware that he had two cats gazing at him nearby.

"Those two blue macaws are gonna pay DEARLY for what they have done to me," the cockatoo snarled, "For making me a laughingstock in front of everyone and destroying my ability to fly…" he looked despairingly and angrily at his tattered wing flight feathers, "…this is all because of Blu. This was his doing. He's gonna pay for what he did to me!"

Nigel then retracted his wing and continued moaning. "And it seems that he and his disgusting pretty bird Jewel have started a family too, based on my observations of those three teeny blue baby macaws…" Nigel's beak then widened into a wicked grin, "… That's it! I think I might have the perfect idea for my revenge plan. I'm gonna make Blu feel extreme loss… feel the excruciating pain I have felt because of him… I think targeting his family is an excellent idea…"

Nigel then began to allow evil titters to escape his throat as he relinquished his possible plan for revenge. However, those titters were cut short and the grin instantly vanished when Nigel turned and found himself face to face with a cat paw, its claws exposed, hovering above his head.

"Stay where you are, Nigel!" snarled the paw's owner, a white face with black and ginger blotches painted all over it, and blue eyes burning with anger. At this, Nigel, his crest raised glared back at the face, which belonged to Catina, in shock. Behind Catina, Veggie watched, his face flooded in revulsion. Veggie had never seen a sulfur-crested cockatoo as disgusting as this one, and the sight of Nigel's grotesque eye bags and his eating of a chicken drumstick made him flinch and his stomach turn slightly. When Nigel registered who the cat was, his shock became slowly replaced by sneer.

"Well if it ain't Catina the calico," he crooned, taking a bite out of his drumstick, "How are you doin' since we haven't seen each other after all this time. Still catching and torturin' those disgusting pretty birds with your leader Brutus, I hope?"

However, the angry expression never left Catina's face and her paw continued hovering near Nigel's face, threatening to come down and scratch him. Veggie continued looking on as recognition of the infamous exotic bird hating cockatoo slowly crept into him.

"So THAT'S Nigel," he whispered. However, under the surprise, Veggie did not like the cockatoo one bit. After hearing what Nigel had done to countless birds, including breaking Jewel's wing and traumatising Venus and Mercury when they were chicks, the urge to walk away was bubbling within the tabby cat. He wanted to tell Catina that but was hesitant, based on how angry she looked. Catina was practically furious. Her fur was puffed out and her back was arched, typical of an angry or threatened cat. Veggie, however, was not surprised to see his mate this angry, especially after hearing Nigel mention Catina's former life as a smuggler's cat. Catina then let a small hiss escape through her teeth at Nigel's mentioning of her former life.

"I've left that rotten business of catching and smuggling helpless birds, actually," hissed the calico fiercely. At this, Nigel's wickedly hopeful look snapped to one of surprise.

"You WHAT!?" he retorted.

"You heard me," snapped Catina, her paw kept close to Nigel's face, "I've given up that rotten life as a smuggler's cat for a better life."

This was met by an angry and disgusted glare from the sickly cockatoo. His crest rose and he shoved his beak right into Catina's face.

"Don't tell me you've become friends with those rotten, filthy brightly coloured feathered balls of slime, HAVE YOU!?" screeched Nigel, spittle flying into Catina's face. Veggie flinched at the cockatoo's temper but then he began to feel the urge to defend his mate creep in. Catina, however, stood her ground despite the unpleasant saliva flying from Nigel's beak into her face.

"Don't you DARE call those exotic birds rotten, filthy brightly coloured feathered balls of slime," she retorted loudly. Nigel flinched in shock before his anger returned.

"What has happened to you lately, calico?" he snapped, "Have you gone soft in the head or something!? You don't realise what misery one of them brightly coloured pigeons have caused me. Two of them in fact. First, a tacky green parakeet comes along and displaces me from my world of fame as a show bird and then this blue macaw reduces me to a tatty mess…"

"You were a _show bird_!?" blurted out Veggie in shock but then he immediately regretted for speaking to the infamous cockatoo. Veggie shrank behind Catina before Nigel could shoot him a glare, not wanting to be in the disgusting cockatoo's gaze.

"Well, that's just unfortunate that you lost your career as a show bird," snapped Catina angrily, "But that's NOT an excuse to abuse, torture and torment macaws, toucans and other exotic birds."

"But those exotic birds DESERVE to suffer," snapped Nigel who was boiling with fury this time, "And now, they deserve to SUFFER MORE THAN EVER, ESPECIALLY THAT BLUE MACAW WHO REDUCED YOU TO THIS TATTERED, and FLIGHTLESS MESS!"

"Well, it SERVES YOU RIGHT!" retorted Catina at the top of her voice, anger reaching boiling point, "And I hope…"

"DON'T you DARE SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT!" snarled Nigel, "I'LL GET MY REVENGE ON THOSE DISGUSTING EXOTIC BIRDS ESPECIALLY THAT BLUE MACAW IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!"

He then calmed down a little and said, "But as for you, calico, for forsaking your career as a smuggler's cat and abandoning your leader Brutus, you're gonna pay DEARLY for that!"

Veggie, at this, instinctively jumped in and prepared to attack Nigel.

"You DARE attack my mate, you sickly bundle of feathers with a crest," he snarled, fur puffed out and body poised to pounce onto Nigel, "I'll rip ya feathers out!"

Nigel, however, ignored Veggie and prepared to attack Catina.

"I want you to do yourself a favour, Nigel," said the calico in a calmer voice.

"Oh yeah, and what's that?" asked Nigel.

"I want you to stay away from ALL exotic birds, including Blu and his family. You are NEVER, EVER to approach ANY of them."

Nigel, at this, let loose a scoffing laugh from his throat before allowing his anger to return and boil out of control.

"You sure have gone soft in the head, haven't YOU CALICO!" and with that, the cockatoo crouched to jump up and claw Catina across the face but Catina moved first. She swiped her raised paw across Nigel's face and knocked him down. Nigel was sent crashing into a spilt bin bag of decaying fruit. Veggie then rushed off to grab a cardboard box while Catina landed another paw swipe on Nigel's face to prevent him from getting up.

"You know, maybe I should break your wings or something," she snarled, landing a third swipe across Nigel's face to emphasize her message, "But it's never been in my nature to injure birds like that…"

Nigel tried to get up but Catina landed a fourth swipe across his face, knocking him back down and plunging his face into the decaying fruit pile. Veggie then rushed in with a cardboard box and gave it to Catina. Then as Nigel tried to get up, Catina jumped in and shoved the cardboard box over Nigel's head. The force was so great that it knocked Nigel over again.

"And if you EVER come ANYWHERE NEAR ANY exotic bird, especially Blu and his family," snarled Catina as she prepared to leave with Veggie, "You're in DEEP WATER!"

"Yes, definitely," put in Veggie fiercely as he followed Catina. Then the two cats quickly trotted out of the alley, leaving the dazed Nigel to struggle in the pile of rotting fruit, the cardboard box shoved over his head and stuck half way down his torso making it more difficult to get out of the pile.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3- meeting Dash and company for the first time in months**

 **Meanwhile**

Blu and the others with him continued flying over the cityscape of Rio. As they had flown over the city, the group had just witnessed the familiar hustle and bustle of the citizens and tourists as they went about their daily business. However, they were seconds away from Tulio and Linda's cottage.

"You know, it sure seems strange to be back in the city in which we've not seen in months," said Venus as she flew alongside Zephyr and her four chicks Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil, "It's hard to believe how long ago our chicks, alongside Veggie, Catina, Dash and Ginger's kittens and puppies, have been born."

"Those little rascals will have grown up a lot since we last saw them," said Zephyr with a smile on his face, "They'll be soon given to other owners."

"I wonder how our cat and greyhound friends are doing handling their now-young adult offspring since they'll have passed through adolescence," asked Jupiter. Ruby shot him a slight annoyed look.

"Well, wait until our four chicks, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto reach adolescence, meu amore," she said knowingly, "Things are bound to get more challenging, especially as our three daughters and son transit into independence."

Jupiter gave Ruby a knowing look as well. He knew what it was like passing through adolescence, the time when a macaw was reaching biological maturity and eventually the age of having chicks. However, the age of maturity varied with different macaw species. Of all the species present in this group, Triton and Indigo, Neptune and Ultramarine's two chicks, will be the last to reach sexual maturity: at around seven years, and Neptune himself had been the last to reach this age when Jupiter's group had been Susan and Lucy's pets. And even though their non-hyacinth friends will begin to enter the age equivalent to human teenagers when they reach around two or three years, Triton and Indigo will still be an equivalent to human schoolchildren age. While Jupiter thought about the possible challenges that lay ahead for him and Ruby regarding Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto's passing through adolescence, Blu and Jewel led their chicks Carla, Bia and Tiago and the others behind them including Travis and his family toward Tulio and Linda's cottage. Soon, the building emerged into view. It appeared to be a typical house with a pale sandy brown roof and a large garden in front of it. Its doors and window frames were a cyan colour and next to the house was a tree on which Blu and his family's birdhouse was built. Blu and his family led the others straight towards it. There, the group perched all around the birdhouse or in some nearby trees while Blu and Jewel began to check their birdhouse.

"I'm going to have to do the same to ours when we get to our owners' house," said Travis, scratching his back with a wing. Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa perched beside him. Zephyr then observed the birdhouse as Blu and Jewel checked their main sleeping spot while Carla, Bia and Tiago excitedly jumped into their own rooms.

"That is definitely too small to house two Spix macaw families," he murmured. Venus who had Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil perched on her left, said nothing but understood the problem. The birdhouse was indeed built to house just one family of macaws. It had been constructed by Tulio and Linda though Blu and Bia helped to a degree. Blu and Jewel's sleeping part was the largest compartment in the middle and it had an orange slab on top. On the left was Carla's room. It was a white, cuboidal piece with a silvery grey slab on top. A sign with an 'E' inside a red bordered circle and a line through it hung over its entrance. Why Carla chose to have this sign, which was a road sign for 'No Parking', as a covering for her room entrance, Venus could not come up with an answer, but she would not have such a sign as a covering for any of her kids' rooms' entrance, if she and her family had the choice of having a birdhouse constructed. If anything she would prefer to have simple, blank pieces covering an entrance if any of her kids chose to have one. On the right and above Blu and Jewel's sleeping spot were two more compartments. One was a metallic cylindrical can with a bumpy surface and the other was a simple wooden nest box similar to the ones Venus and some of the others who had lived in England had seen built for small bird species like blue or great tits and sparrows to nest in. These rooms were Tiago and Bia's rooms and there was a colourful chain of discs hanging from a branch in front of Bia's room, presumably to allow Bia to climb into her room without having to fly and perch onto her room's entrance. Tiago also had a climbing wire snaking out of his room entrance and onto the wooden platform. Altogether, the family's rooms were built onto three wooden platforms, a rather too artificial home, in Zephyr's opinion. This was why Zephyr and Venus had chosen to live out in the sanctuary once their chicks had become old enough to fly in Tulio's Aviary, rather than in a birdhouse like Blu and his family. Sapphire, Chiquitita, Ruby, Esmeralda, Orquidea, Ultramarine, Cobalto and Lapis Lazuli had also the same insistence, as did their respective mates Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Saturn, Neptune, Ceres and Pluto. While Zephyr and Venus examined Blu and his family's birdhouse, Saturn opened his wings.

"I'll check the inside of Tulio and Linda's house to see if they are in," he said and with that, he took off from the branch and flew towards Tulio and Linda's cottage. Then Travis said, "You see, had you lot decided on living in birdhouses rather than in natural trees, you wouldn't have had the hassle of losing your homes to other bird families during our trip in the Amazon."

"But we thought nothing of it," said Mercury who was perched next to Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette, "We felt that birdhouses were too artificial for us to live in and chose to live in natural hollows instead."

He then sighed and said nothing else. Then Annette became filled with curiosity for she had never yet seen what the inside of the rooms of Blu and his family's birdhouse was like, the other chicks being the same. her eyes on Tiago's room, Annette took off from her mother's side and flew over.

"Now, Annette," began Sapphire but Annette was already near Tiago's room. As she hovered near the entrance to the bumpy cylinder, Carla's head emerged from behind the 'No Parking' sign. She had entered her room to settle down in it as soon as the group had landed on the platform. As she relished the gladness of being back in the birdhouse, which will be Blu and his family's home for the summer, Blu emerged from his and Jewel's sleeping spot.

"Well, all our rooms need is probably a good clean," he said as he fully emerged from the hole, before turning and smiling at his family's would-be summer home. "Other than that, our birdhouse's ready for use as our home for the summer period."

"Good," said Jewel gladly. Suddenly, Tiago's voice seized the couple's attention. "Hey, get your head outa my room, nosey Lear's girl!"

At this, all heads turned to watch Tiago hover behind Annette and tug her head out of the entrance to his room with his talons wrapped on either side of her head. Annette let loose a gasp of shock as she then lost balance and went tumbling down from the hole, taking Tiago with her. As the two landed in the heap on the platform at the foot of Tiago's room, Sapphire, Mercury, Phoebe and Jasmine flew in while Blu and Jewel began to sort the two chicks out.

"What were you trying to do, you birdbrain!?" snarled Annette as Tiago shook his head to get rid of the daze from the impact. Tiago then glared at Annette but then Sapphire's voice barked as she rebuked her youngest daughter.

"Stop calling Tiago names this minute, young lady," shouted Sapphire firmly, making Annette close her beak.

"Also, you should not poke your heads into other chicks' rooms without their permission," added Mercury, "It's very impolite. Now apologise to Tiago this minute."

"I was only curious," protested Annette but when she saw the stern looks on Tiago's parents' faces, she did so and everything was calmed down.

"Not a very good start to our summer stay in Rio is it?" muttered Mars nearby. Just then Saturn flew in.

"Are Tulio and Linda in, Saturn?" asked Blu.

"I'm afraid they aren't," said Saturn, "All the rooms are empty. I can't even find Fernando anywhere, so I think all three might be at work."

"They will be," said Blu as it dawned upon him, "Knowing Tulio and Linda to be very busy in their bird conservation projects, I wonder if they have an important task today."

"They might well have one," said Jupiter.

"Well, since Tulio and his family aren't in," said Sunset, "Why don't we fly over to Susan and Lucy's cottage and say hello to our cat and greyhound friends?"

"That's a good idea," said Mercury. Then Jewel called together Carla and Bia who had been in their rooms. Bia eagerly got out of her room and joined her mother's side while Carla slumped out of her room, weighed down by reluctance. Then as soon as the group was ready, they all took off from Blu and his family's birdhouse and trees and headed off in the direction of Susan and Lucy's house. As the group flew on, Bia said, "Hey, Mom, Dad, after we visit Dash and Veggie and their families, can we visit Uncle Rafael and Aunt Eva next?"

"Whoa, one thing at a time, Bia," said Zephyr, "We can't do two things at once unless we split up, but we'd rather stay together."

"We'll do that after we have visited Dash and Veggie and their families," said Blu and with that, the group continued their flight.

The activities of Rio continued flowing with the day. People were at work or driving around, tourists relaxed on Copacabana Beach, or played volleyball or some other activities while police guards watched in case any criminal activity occurred, and more tourists toured the city. In another part of the city, a pet's rehoming centre was busy. It was filled mostly with dogs and cats, but a few other animals such as rabbits and guinea pigs were also present. These animals had been rescued from either abusive owners or owners who simply could not look after the animals and were brought here. Most of them were, anyway. Some of the cats had once been pets of a criminal group involved in catching and illegally smuggling exotic birds out of Brazil, much like Catina had been. After Frank and his accomplices, Vera, Marvin and Luke had been arrested and taken to prison around two or three years ago, their cats including Brutus but excluding Catina had been caught and taken away to be either rehomed or in the case of the most dangerous ones such as Brutus, put down. Among the former smugglers' cats were Otis, the black and white cat, Moggy, a female brown cat, and some others including Paws, Adriana and Hopper, all former minions of the late Brutus. However, unlike a number of the other cats who had been taken away by loving owners, this group of cats had been very troublesome. Over the past three years, the former smugglers' cats had had a series of owners who had only returned them to the rehoming centre after the cats caused them trouble. It was clear that Otis and most of the other former smugglers' cats were not going to be given over to the life as house pets, and had been badly behaved on purpose with the intention of being returned to the rehoming centre. When he had been the short-lived pet of one owner, Otis had badly scratched one of the children and behaved very viciously, forcing the child's parents to return him to the centre. The same happened to his friends, who resorted to vicious and rebellious behaviour in order to be returned by their owners to the centre.

The cats' time in the centre had also been very negative. Because of Otis and his group's reputation as being involved in the illegal smuggling of exotic birds, most of the other cats, a lot of the dogs and other animals had shunned the group, giving them dirty looks and growling or hissing at them whenever their eyes landed on any of the former bird thieves' cats. At one point, a dog viciously barked at Otis as he was carried past by a member of staff after being selected by an owner to take away. It was clear that the former smugglers' cats were not having a good time here, and their days at the centre was becoming more and more numbered as the keepers had become doubtful of these cats being suitable pets, especially after being returned to the centre so many times. However, some of the former smugglers' cats had managed to break free of their cages one night and had escaped into the streets from the building, prompting some of the members of staff of the rehoming centre to go out and search for them. But thus far, they had been unsuccessful. While the dynamics of the crowds in the streets of Rio continued to change continuously, Otis and his group had been hiding in another messy alleyway. This alley was indeed a total mess. Litter of various types dotted the floor and much of it was collected in larger piles at the very end of the alley. Plastic bags, discarded food, tins, cardboard and all other types of rubbish imaginable were present. This alley had been the temporary home of Otis and his group. As a gentle breeze blew across the untidy passage of the alley, blowing lightweight pieces of trash such as plastic bags about and sending them dancing into the air for a bit, a bone flew out from the pile of rubbish and clattered onto the ground. After this, a black and white feline face appeared, unsatisfied brown eyes gazing at the bone he had just chucked away.

"Seriously, boys and girls," he muttered, "We've gotta go out into the streets and search for a proper meal at some point or we'd go seriously hungry."

At this, more feline faces emerged from the heap of trash, all marked by faces of hunger and frustration. There were about twenty or more cats in the group.

"But how can we without getting spotted by those humans on the streets, Otis?" growled a female grey and black striped cat, "We've already had dozens of narrow escapes for the past two months."

"That butcher shop proved partially successful," added another cat, a male all-black one, "But we hadn't pinched enough meat to feed all of us."

"We've tried any time of the day possible," put in another cat, a female ginger and white one, "Night, where we hoped that the streets weren't as busy; morning, midday…"

"Boy, my stomach won't shut up," muttered another brown cat. Otis breathed a frustrated sigh and jumped out from the pile of rubbish, before sauntering toward the bone, which had been part of remains of a beefy meal.

"This scavenging is seriously getting harder and harder with less and less rewards reaped," he muttered, glaring at the bone, "We seriously need to think of an alternative method of finding food. Returning to that miserable rehoming centre is not an option since it means facing becoming lousy housecats."

"Yeah, that sort of life is miserable," said the female grey and black striped cat named Adriana as she jumped down from the pile of rubbish. The other cats all murmured in agreement.

"We prefer our lives to be more full of action like how our former life as smugglers' cats had been," said Paws the white and brown cat. As he said this, some more cats jumped down from the pile of rubbish and walked over to Otis. Otis then began to grumble as the memories of his and his group's capturing and their owners' arrest came flooding into his mind.

"If only that traitorous calico Catina hadn't done this to us," he muttered, "we wouldn't have been in this mess. We were so looking forward to getting rich from selling those birds, as was Brutus…"

The other cats all moaned in agreement.

"Oh, Brutus," groaned Paws, "How I miss our leader…"

"If only he hadn't had timed his escape so badly or went in such a wrong direction to escape our captors," put in Adriana, "he wouldn't have died when that car struck him."

"It's all because of Catina," growled Hopper angrily, another cat, "She was the one who brought us into this miserable state."

The other cats also all moaned in agreement. Then Moggy began to wonder about Nigel.

"Speaking of a miserable state," she murmured, "I wonder how our cockatoo friend is doing after all this time."

"You mean Nigel?" asked Hopper. He then sighed. "We haven't seen that cockatoo for years."

"I hope he's alright," said Otis, "I've been seriously worried about him since our owners split up to smuggle birds separately, with Nigel going with Marcel, Tipa and Armando and us going with the other smugglers."

The other cats nodded in agreement. Then Otis said, "Right, let's move on to discuss alternative ways to get food. Any ideas, anyone?"

This was met by the shakes of the heads of all the other cats.

"I'm afraid we've practically ran out of ideas, Otis," said Tom, "We could continue to scavenge in the trash bins but… we won't find much food through that method."

"And I'm seriously starving," moaned Moggy as she placed her paw on her rumbling stomach as it growled, begging for food. "We didn't eat much food last night."

Otis let loose another frustrated sigh. He knew that he and his group do not find food soon, they will starve, but it had been a continuous, never-ending struggle in this matter. While the other cats began to discuss possible ideas, Otis turned around and began to pace toward the entrance to the alleyway.

"Another thing we need," he groaned, "Another purpose in life but certainly not the life of a housecat."

As he continued walking towards the alleyway, lost in thought, Otis thought he saw a small shape move across the flurry of legs of the passers-by. At this, he shook his head and squinted to see if it were only a hallucination but the shape was real. In fact, there were two shapes, and they had stopped by a trash can close to the kerb leading to the road. When Otis looked harder at the two shapes, he realised that one of them was white with ginger and black blotches all over its body and the other was striped like Adriana but was brown and black instead of grey and black. Upon registering these features, and realising that these two were cats like him and his group, recognition began to boil within Otis but so did his anger. Floods of memories began to pour in like a torrent of white water, especially of the white, black and ginger form. Otis remembered the rebellious behaviour of the blue eyes of that form, her fleeing from Brutus resulting in his capture, and her refusal to catch birds. As Otis pieced together these memories with the recognition, he finally snapped, just before the two forms in the street continued walking.

"That's the calico who caused us all this misery!" he snarled. And with that, he let loose a loud, enraged hiss, which reached the ears of his group. All heads turned to him, eyes filled with concern.

"Otis?" asked Moggy. Then Otis dashed off towards the street. At this, a pattering of cat paws filled the alley's air behind him.

"Otis," cried Hopper, "Get back here! You'll get us spotted again!"

But Otis did not hear him and continued galloping towards the street. As soon as he had reached the entrance of the alley, he screeched to a halt and looked in the direction of where the two forms had left. To his frustration, he could not see anything except a flurry of legs. The other cats appeared behind him.

"Otis, what were you thinking!?" snarled Adriana, her paws on Otis's head ad pulling him back, "You could have blown our cover to these pedestrians!"

"I've just seen Catina," retorted Otis, his fur puffed out and his brown eyes ablaze with anger, "I've just seen Catina and that wretched tabby cat that caused us so much trouble!"

At this, the all-black cat followed Otis's direction and saw nothing.

"I don't see anything," he said, "Except the legs and feet of these humans."

Then the other cats dragged Otis back into the alleyway until they were certain that their presence was indivisible to the passers-by. Otis's mouth then creased into a wicked smile.

"I think I have an excellent idea, you lot," he said. The other cats gazed back at him confused.

"Oh yeah, and what's that?" asked Moggy.

"We're going to get revenge on Catina," said Otis, brown eyes burning with vengefulness and hatred of Catina, "and her little friend of hers, both for the death of Brutus and our ruined future, and for the mess we're currently in."

The other cats shook their heads with frowns.

"I'm afraid that's not possible, Otis," said Tom.

"Yeah, we don't know where they live," said Moggy.

"And if we try and find their house, it would only put us at even greater risk of getting spotted," said Hopper. The other cats mewed in agreement. Otis, however, was unfazed and the evil smile never left his face.

"Then we'll simply have to climb over the rooftops," he crooned wickedly. He then looked around the walls of the alley until his eyes landed on a long, thin, black tube leading from a drain and upward to the top of the house where it connected to a half tube running around the rim of the roof. The other cats followed his gaze and saw the pipe as well.

"You mean you want us to climb that pipe and then go from roof to roof?" asked Adriana. She clearly believed the idea to be ridiculous. Otis, without hesitation, nodded his head. "One, it will keep us out of sight and two, it would give us a bird's eye view of the streets. At that elevation, we'd be able to see more and possibly increase the chances of finding where Catina lives."

The other cats listened. "And then as soon as we find Catina's house," continued Otis, "We'll sneak into it and then catch her and her friends by surprise. It would be preferred if we attack at night, when everyone is asleep. If Catina has had kittens, we'll take them hostage and use them to force Catina into submitting to our will. What do you guys think?"

At first, there was silence among the group but then Adriana broke it. "I think that's a… very interesting idea (!)" she said in a sarcastic tone.

"Yeah, and a very crazy one," said one of the cat grunts, a male white bushy Persian cat. A number of the other cats, however, disagreed with the Persian cat and Adriana.

"I like that actually," said Hopper evilly, "Yeah; I think we'll go along with that."

"Yeah, absolutely," said Moggy in agreement, "I'm itching to give that calico a piece of my mind as well."

"Then let's do it!" said Paws with a determined throw of his paw. The other cats in for the plan also all cried out. Otis smiled upon seeing so many of his friends agree to this idea.

"Good, then let's start climbing!" he said, clapping his front paws, "And make sure you do be careful not to fall!"

The other cats apart from the disagreeing ones cheered and they all went to the pipe. As they gathered around the pipe and the first ones started climbing, Adriana gave Otis a sour eye.

"I'm telling you, Otis," she growled, "If this plan brings us to disaster, or if any one of us gets injured or even killed, I'm gonna throw ya off the roof!"

"Look, let's just get to it, Adriana," snapped Otis, "You want revenge on Catina? Then you'd better participate. Now prepare to climb that pipe."

Adriana, admitting defeat, let loose a hiss and joined the queue as the cats continued ascending the pipe and onto the roof. Otis then began to keep an eye on the passers-by as they passed the entrance to the alley to make sure that none of the humans looked in their direction as the cats continued ascending the pipe and onto the roof of its house or it would all be over for the group.

 **Meanwhile**

Back in Susan and Lucy's home, Dash, Ginger and their five puppies Eduarda, Esperanza, James, Avellana and Danny and Catina and Veggie's four kittens Broccoli, Daisy, Collette and Thomas had found things to do. Susan and Lucy were absent, having gone to work, but the greyhounds and the grown up kittens had become occupied with various activities. James had gone round to one of the neighbours' house to meet up with two of his friends; Danny and Esperanza were playing chess while Avellana had her nose in an ecology book. Broccoli, Daisy, Collette and Thomas and Eduarda were beginning to watch one of their favourite films, _Lady and the Tramp,_ a WaltDisney film. Dash and Ginger smiled as they watched their oldest daughter and the four young adult cats watch the film. The couple had seen it before when Ginger had been pregnant with the five puppies, and each time Dash saw the romantic scenes between the two protagonist characters, Lady and Tramp, especially the spaghetti scene, Dash was always reminded of his romantic time with Ginger before the two had become mates.

"Boy, do you remember watching that film, dear?" asked Dash, his eyes on the screen.

"Yes, I do," said Ginger, "It's surprising how similar one of our dates was to those two cartoon dogs' night out. Don't you remember when we had dinner at that dogs-only diner run by Manchas the Dalmatian?"

"Manchas' Diner, yes I do," said Dash, "I remember having a lump of beef there. The meat was absolutely delicious."

Ginger smiled, remembering their date at that place. Then Ginger changed the subject and began to gaze down at her belly.

"You know something," she said, running a paw over her belly, "I've been feeling a little moody these last few days. Also, I've been feeling a little sick and restless, with an increased craving for more food."

Dash shot her a concerned look. "You've told me you've not been feeling well several times over that period. Are you feeling a bit snappy?"

Ginger gave him a rather sad look, but deep down, Dash felt it could be something else besides some common ailment after remembering Ginger's change in behaviour and mood when she had been pregnant with Eduarda, Esperanza, James, Danny and Avellana. When a female dog was pregnant, she often had a change in mood and behaviour, including an increased appetite, nesting behaviour, mourning sickness and sometimes territorial behaviour. Ginger sometimes showed these behaviours during the first few weeks of her pregnancy with her and Dash's five pups, and she was sometimes very snappy and moody, which was quite out of character for a dog so caring and gentle in nature. Ginger then decided to retreat to the greyhounds' bed.

"I'm beginning to feel very moody and downcast," she said to Dash, "I think I'll retreat to our bed and rest until this low mood passes. I think Susan and Lucy might have to be alerted to my changes in behaviour when they get back…"

And with that, she left for the hall and the bed. Dash, who was left alone, then scanned the young greyhounds and kittens to make sure that they behaved. To his gladness, none of them had any mischief planned. While Dash scanned the nine young animals, Danny and Esperanza heard the sound of something tapping on the window. At this, the two greyhounds stopped their game of chess and turned in the direction of the sound. To their surprise, the cause of the tap on the glass was none other than a burly vermillion form with a black and white beak. Flanking the vermillion form were a few more colourful forms, some blue, some green and some turquoise and yellow. At this, Esperanza called, "Dad, our bird friends are at the window."

At this, Dash walked in and followed Danny and Esperanza's gaze and to his surprise, a small group of colourful feathered forms were standing outside the window.

"It's Jupiter and his group," he said. He then turned to one of the young adult cats as they watched the film with Eduarda.

"Broccoli, can you jump onto the window ledge and open the window to let our bird friends in please?" he asked, "You cats are the only ones capable of jumping up there."

Broccoli obeyed and left the sofa. He then ran around to the worktop, climbed onto the surface and then jumped onto the window ledge. He then opened the window with a paw. The moment he did, a group of colourful macaws and cockatoos entered the house. Jupiter entered first with Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, followed by Mars, Chiquitita, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre, and then Mercury, Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette, and Venus, Zephyr, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil and then Saturn, Orquidea, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus, and Uranus, Esmeralda, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon, followed by Neptune, Ultramarine, Triton and Indigo, and Ceres, Cobalto, Wilbur, Aurelio and Azul, and Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Charon, Blueberry, Quincy and Flor and last of all, Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa accompanied by Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago. Dash smiled as the vermillion form, Jupiter, fluttered down to him to greet him. Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto went over to Danny and Esperanza to greet them as well.

"Jupiter, my friend," Dash cried joyously, greeting Jupiter with a hug, "You took us by surprise."

"Oh, yeah, we've come to visit," said Jupiter as he returned the hug. Then as the scarlet macaw and greyhound broke the hug, the others went round to greet the young cats and puppies, shouting hello and greeting them with a hug. Broccoli did a fist bump with Justin, one of Venus and Zephyr's sons, and repeated that with Titan, Oberon and Triton.

"How have you lot been doing?" asked Broccoli joyously. The four chicks sighed.

"Fine thanks," said Justin.

"Apart from the incident with the fire," said Titan. Broccoli nodded in understanding.

"Oh, yeah, we saw that on TV," he said, "It must have been dreadful."

"It was," said Oberon who shuddered as the memories of the fire came to mind, "Aunt Venus and Mrs Jewel got lost in the fire."

Broccoli took in a sharp gasp. He remembered hearing Jewel's backstory of how she was separated from the Spix macaw tribe by the previous fire. Then Triton looked at Broccoli up and down.

"Wow, you certainly have grown," he said, "You're a lot bigger than we've last seen you."

Broccoli smiled and looked at himself. "Yep, I'm almost a full grown cat," he said. He then looked at the four chicks and said, "You four seemed to have grown as well. The last time we've seen you, you were smaller than this, especially you, Triton."

It was true. Over the past number of months, Triton's height had begun to increase more rapidly. Already, the height difference between him and Indigo and the smaller non-hyacinth macaw chicks was already beginning to show itself. While Broccoli talked with Justin, Triton, Oberon and Titan, the others in the room continued their greetings. Dash shared a hug with Travis and Sunset and then with Mercury, Venus and Mars. Danny and Esperanza hugged some more of the chicks including Carla, while Daisy, Collette, Thomas and Eduarda did the same to the other chicks. Then after the greeting had finished, Travis noticed that four of the mammals were missing.

"Where are Ginger, James, Catina and Veggie?" he asked.

"Veggie and Catina have gone out for a walk," replied Dash, "James is around at Pelusa the Shih Tsu and his Persian cat friend Nevado's house, and Ginger is on our bed, wanting some space."

Travis and Sunset shared looks with Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and the other adult macaws including Blu and Jewel.

"Has she had a bad day or something?" asked Mercury.

"No, but she has been experiencing some mood swings," said Dash, "But I'm hoping to find the reason out after our two owners Susan and Lucy return from work. They might take Ginger to the vet's…"

"I think that's a good idea," said Blu, but he understood the reason for Ginger's mood swings, for he had also studied dog biology at Linda's bookstore when he lived in Minnesota, USA. Zephyr then smiled at the change in size of the young adult cats and puppies.

"And I can see your offspring has grown up," he said, "Especially Veggie and Catina's kittens. Broccoli and Thomas certainly do look like their father…"

"They're not kittens anymore," said Dash.

"Aren't they?" asked Zephyr surprised.

"They've passed through adolescence and are now on the borderline of young adulthood," said Dash. "And our puppies are also not far off from maturity too. They will soon be sold to other owners by Susan and Lucy…"

"Well, I hope they get loving owners," said Venus, happy to hear that the young adult cats and greyhounds will soon be entering that new chapter of their lives, "I'm sure one of your pups would make a loving pet for a family…"

"Yeah, I hope so, too," said Dash hopefully. He then observed all the chicks as they talked with the young adult cats and greyhound puppies and was surprised to see how much they had grown as well. They seemed to be bigger than the last time Dash and Ginger had seen them, especially Triton and Indigo who were by now around half Blu's size. But Dash and Ginger knew that those two will triple in size when they reached adolescence and eventually young adults. Hyacinth macaws, when fully grown were almost twice the size of many of the other smaller macaw species. As for , Phobos and Deimos, who were unusually small for their species, it is likely that their height increase will be minimal. was smaller than her five older siblings, the weakest of the brood. However, she had managed to learn to fly and do other things average size Spix macaw chicks were able to do. Dash felt a pang of pity for the tiny Spix macaw chick, and believed that because Venus had laid her and Zephyr's large clutch of eggs in quite a short space of time, the sixth egg that became had developed smaller than the others as it took a female macaw a lot of resources to make an egg, especially calcium for the shell. Dash had learned that sometimes in a big clutch, especially in live-bearing mammals such as dogs, cats and pigs, a very small sibling was bound to be born. But then Dash was struck by surprise as he observed Saturn and Orquidea's massive clutch, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus. They all looked very healthy and around the average height of blue-and-gold macaw chicks their age. However, Orquidea had laid that clutch over the course of three or four days rather than one like Venus, and all the chicks had been born healthily when they hatched. But raising seven chicks in one clutch was an immense task for Saturn and Orquidea which was why they had babysitters and help from their friends, including Neptune and Ultramarine, to help care for them all.

While the chicks continued conversing with the young adult cats and greyhounds, with Carla, Bia and Tiago happily talking with Avellana and Justin, Charlotte and Matilda chatting with Collette and Thomas, two soft flapping noises emitted from the front door. At this, Dash and Ginger turned round and saw two cats, a male tabby and a female calico walk in. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Travis and Pluto also saw the cats as they walked in and walked over to them while the others, Sapphire, Zephyr, Chiquitita, Ruby, Orquidea, Esmeralda, Ultramarine, Cobalto, Lapis Lazuli, Sunset and Blu and Jewel watched their chicks converse with the young adult cats and Dash and Ginger's puppies.

"Hi, Veggie, Catina," said Dash with a smile as the two cats walked into the living room and kitchen, "Had a nice walk?"

But when he saw the downcast looks on the two cats' faces, his face fell.

"Has something happened?" asked Dash. Catina gave her a downcast eye.

"No, nothing serious," she groaned in a voice as though she had had a bad day, "But we did have a nice walk, though."

Then Veggie glumly looked up and saw Mercury and the others with him wearing surprised looks on their faces when they saw how miserable he and Catina looked. "Oh, Hi, Mercury, folks," he groaned in a downcast tone, "We didn't know that you lot had come to visit us."

"Looks like you two have got up on the wrong side of your bed," said Jupiter.

"They were happy when they left," said Dash.

"Then it seems like that something or someone must have upset them," said Mars. He then turned to the adult cats and asked, "Can you explain to us what had happened?"

This was met by a worried look on Veggie's face as he glanced at Mercury and Venus and then at Blu and Jewel as they rebuked Tiago for burping out loud. Catina also shared the same look. They dreaded telling the group that they had just had a disturbing encounter with Nigel as the former two had been badly traumatised by that sickly cockatoo while the latter two are easily angered whenever they hear that infamous cockatoo's name. While Veggie and Catina felt their tongues stick in their mouths, Blu, Jewel, Zephyr and Sapphire came in.

"Hi, Veggie and Catina," said Sapphire, "You two look a bit worried."

"We saw you two walk in with a downcast look on your faces," said Blu, "Has something happened?"

Veggie, at first, hesitated but then he decided to let it out but first, he took into consideration the two particularly sensitive macaws.

"Okay, we will tell you what happened," said the tabby tomcat, "But I feel that Venus and Mercury should be somewhere else as I don't want them to hear this."

At this, Dash shot the cats a curious gaze before saying, "Okay, I'll take them into the hallway."

And with that, he commanded Venus and Mercury to follow him and the three left for the door to the hallway where Ginger was resting. At first, Mercury and Venus were confused but then understood that Veggie did not want to disturb them. After the three had disappeared through the door and it was closed so that they were out of earshot, Veggie began to explain who he and Catina had found.

"You are not going to like it, Blu and Jewel," said the tabby cat as he knew how they were going to react.

"Look, just tell us, Veggie," snapped Jewel impatiently. Then Veggie spilled out the information but he felt his skin prickle.

"Alright, here it is," he said. He then launched into an explanation of how he and Catina had met 'the infamous cockatoo'- Veggie did not want to mention 'Nigel',- and how Catina had gave him a few swipes and warned him not to come anywhere near any exotic bird, especially Blu and his family. Veggie also told the group how that cockatoo was lamenting on his flightless state and how he wanted revenge on Blu and his family for the mess, how he was angry at Catina for abandoning her life as a smugglers' cat for a better life as a housecat, and how he and Catina had left him to lie in the pile of rotting fruit. As soon as Veggie had finished the explanation, Blu and Jewel made scowls on their faces but thankfully, and to Veggie's relief, they did not explode.

"Well, I'm very impressed at how you dealt with that disgusting bundle of rotting feathers," snarled Jewel angrily, barely able to contain her anger. She detested that cockatoo to the core, and always had the desire to tear his feathers out especially after what he did to her on the plane. "But in my opinion I think you should have clawed him rather than swipe him."

"I had that desire to do so, Jewel," said Catina firmly, "But unfortunately, it's not in my nature to seriously injure birds but I did issue him a strong warning that he'll face the consequences if he EVER went anywhere near any exotic bird."

She then shot Carla, Bia and Tiago a gaze and continued, "But don't worry, that cockatoo will never find us. He cannot fly so the chances of him finding you lot are incredibly slim."

Blu creased his beak into a smug smile. He clearly enjoyed thinking about Nigel being saddened over his loss of ability to fly because of him. It served him right after all.

"By my calculations, Catina," he said smugly, "I'd say the probability of that vulture finding us is… around, er… zero."

"Sounds like he must have escaped Tulio's Aviary," said Zephyr. He then stifled a giggle and his voice broke as he struggled to restrain his laughter. "But to hear that a female frog had fallen head-over-feet with him… it's totally… hilarious…"

He then burst into a titter. Veggie and Catina shook their heads in confusion.

"What happened?" asked Veggie.

"When Nigel followed us into the Amazon," said Blu, his mood changed to amusement, "and tried to attack us, a fuchsia pink and dark red frog smooched all over his face…"

He then lost control and began to laugh his head off. Sapphire, Zephyr and Jewel also let loose laughs. Veggie and Catina also laughed a bit.

"Really!?" snapped Veggie in between two bouts of laughter, "That should be filmed and put on an animal comedy show!"

"It's a strange observation to find," said Catina with a wide amused smile, "A frog madly in love with a cockatoo."

"I think we should show our friends a recording or whatever it's called of Nigel being smooched all over the face by that frog," tittered Jewel.

"Yeah, that'll be great," said Blu.

"Well, I wouldn't recommend it," said Saturn from a distance. Beside him, Mimas, Enceladus, Miranda, Ariel and Danny looked on. "I think we should just leave that."

"Why not," replied Jewel, a spiteful tint in the amused smile on her face, "It would be something for our friends to laugh about."

Saturn, however, did not agree with this and shook his head much to Jewel's slight chagrin. Turning back to Veggie and Catina, she said, "Well, at least you've issued that psychotic cockatoo a strong warning, you two, but I'll tell you this: if that Nigel ever," her voice sharpened to one of anger, hatred and vengefulness, "I repeat: EVER… approach our family or friends again… Blu and I'll be the ones to seriously injure him."

"I could break his wings or something," added Blu. Zephyr and Sapphire rocked their heads forward in a sharp nod.

"Yeah, especially if he threatens Mercury and Venus," said Zephyr in a growl, "What he did to them when they were chicks was just terrible."

"Well, I certainly wouldn't allow that cockatoo anywhere near our friends and families," said Jupiter nearby, standing with Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, "I will not hesitate to fight him off like how I did Brutus."

The other adult birds in the room including Travis and Sunset nodded in agreement. Travis felt a wave of disgust. Nigel certainly has stained the name of his species, the sulfur-crested cockatoo.

"Good," said Veggie, "But I think that'll be quite enough of that," he then glanced at the door when he heard Dash knock on the other side before turning back to Blu, Jewel, Zephyr and Sapphire. "It is time for those three to return."

He then let loose a loud meow to give the signal and a second after this, the door clicked and was opened. Dash, Venus and Mercury came back in. However, based on Mercury and Venus's looks, Veggie and Catina knew that the subject had been about Nigel but they looked unworried. Everyone had in their heads that Nigel was not going to cause anyone any trouble, and Veggie and Catina had hoped that Nigel might be caught and taken back to Tulio's Aviary where he will face the constant humiliation of being showered with kisses and cuddles from the frog named Gabi against his wishes.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4- Otis and his group reunites with Nigel**

In Tulio's Aviary, Tulio and his team were up to their usual tasks of caring for the injured and sick birds in the main medical room and releasing them when they were well enough to return to the wild. Around the room, birds of various species wore bandages on their wings, legs or other parts of their body dotted the worktops being cared for by the vets. While the vets helped to care for the birds, Tulio and his main team were in a discussion room, talking about their trip into the Sanctuary de Amazon to study the recently discovered glaucous macaw flock. Tulio was in front of the other people who were seated in rows of seats, watching while he talked about the glaucous macaw and the project using a projector and a screen. Among the seated team members were Susan, Lucy and Linda, and they watched intently as Tulio continued discussing the project ahead. Many of the other men and women present also found this talk interesting but a few were dozing. All the members of the audience were nonetheless looking forward to going out into the Sanctuary de Amazon to study the only glaucous macaw flock in the entire world. However, not all of them had the same genuine ambition in this task. In the back row, one of the scientists wore an intrigued smile on his face. However, this was no excited smile, but one of scheming but he managed to conceal the scheming attitude with a façade of excitement. He had his eyes glues on the screen and ears pinned on Tulio's speech as he continued talking.

"We will be estimating the population size of this glaucous macaw flock," said Tulio, gesturing to the picture of some of the birds taken by one of the ornithologists that had visited the habitat some other day, "And once that is done, we will be estimating their reproductive output in the present time which will be the starting point of the population study of this flock including monitoring their rate of reproduction each month…"

The scientist with the scheming attitude under the pseudo-excited smile widened the corners of his mouth further up his face.

"Brilliant," he said in a very low voice so that none of the others' suspicion was roused, "Our boss Lysandre will be looking forward to hearing about this…"

"Also, while we are out in the Amazon," continued Tulio, "Some of us will be studying the Spix macaw flock, the Lear's macaw flock and the flock of green macaws and gathering data about those macaws as well, such as their population size, estimated reproductive output in the present time…"

The scientist uttered silent titters with glee. He clearly was planning something. However, this scientist was not a genuine scientist. He had been sent into Tulio's Aviary under the guise of one by his boss who was planning something illegal, and had been given the task of spying on Tulio and his team and bringing back reports to his boss and his team. The man had dark brown hair, was fairly slim and had green eyes. He was dressed like the other members in the room, in the same uniform as them but this was just a disguise, but none of the others in the room, not even Tulio himself, were aware that he was something suspicious. Then as soon as Tulio had finished coming to the end of his talk with his team, he dismissed the meeting and began to pack up his equipment. While the others all stood up and moved around to chat, the man who had a gleeful and scheming smile on his face then began to carefully make his way to outside. Being careful not to rouse suspicion of the genuine scientists in the rooms, the guy exited via the back door and quickly made his way to a spot so that he was out of sight and earshot of the workers in and around the Aviary. As soon as he had made sure that he was well away and hidden from everyone else, he pulled out a mobile phone, also called a cellphone, and began to contact his boss.

In another place somewhere in the city of Rio, a figure cloaked by shadow sat at a desk. Beside the figure was a smaller shady bird-like figure. Suddenly, a small rodent, a mouse, scurried along and climbed up one of the legs of the table. As it made its way to the table top, its nose wriggling as it sniffed the air for a scent of something to eat, a talon suddenly slammed down onto it. This talon was bright yellow with four toes, three out the front and two out the back. On the end of each toe was a long, curled black claw, lethal and sharp like daggers. The mouse squeaked and squirmed helplessly under the talon until its movements diminished as the pressure on its tiny body overwhelmed it. Then the four toes closed around the now dead rodent and picked it up off the table. The rodent was carried to a lethally sharp, hooked beak which then closed onto the body as the owner of the talon and beak, a falcon, began to eat it. The falcon had a slate grey back and bone white front. Its belly and upper legs were speckled with blackish bands. Its wings were long and pointy, like in all falcons and its tail was short and chisel-shaped, rather than long like a macaw's, and its body was sleek and aerodynamic. On the end of the falcon's head was a bright yellow, greyish tipped beak, hooked and cruel, clearly designed for tearing the flesh out of its prey. Its lower legs were also yellow and on the end of those legs were four toes, each armed with a black, dagger like claw, also designed for dispatching and ripping apart prey. Behind the beak was a pair of large eyes, piercing and cruel. The eyes were filled with delight as the falcon tasted the flesh of the freshly killed mouse. It looked up evilly at the figure in the shadows and smiled, but it was not the only falcon on the table. With it were several more falcons, all with the same piercing eyes, cruel dagger-like talons, sleek bodies and hooked beaks. The other falcons were stood in a row along the length of the table top, like soldiers ready to take orders. Then a hand emerged out of the cloak of darkness and began to pet the first falcon's head. The falcon squeaked and accepted the strokes pleasurably.

"Don't worry, Cazador," said the person in the shadows, "You, your minions and your raven grunts will soon be put into action shortly…"

The falcon continued chirping as it nuzzled against its master's hand. Just then, some human footsteps sounded in the dark room.

"Boss Lysandre," said one of the humans. The person in the darkness looked up and saw three of the humans walk towards him. The first falcon and the others with it followed their owner's gaze. The human then handed something to the person named Lysandre and said, "Ernesto is on the phone."

At this, Lysandre, with an evil smile on his face, took the phone and answered it.

"Hi, Ernesto," he said, "Any news on the trip out into the Sanctuary de Amazon yet?"

"Not yet, sir," said the man whose name was Ernesto, the same guy who had been to Tulio's meeting, "But Tulio has just had a meeting with his team and had talked about the tasks of the trip, but no date of departure to the Amazon yet."

"Good," said Lysandre, his mouth creased into a wicked smile, "Make sure you keep a close eye on that group okay? And when Tulio does give the date of departure, ring us and let us know so that we can prepare to go out into the Amazon with them as well."

"Yes, I will, sir," said Ernesto, "I will keep you informed of any important updates. I'll talk to you again soon."

Then after the two men had said goodbye, they hung up and Ernesto put his phone away before returning to Tulio's Aviary to continue his phony ornithologist disguise. Lysandre then handed his mobile phone back to the human who had given it to him before sitting back down. His eyes, coloured blue, glittered with scheming and glee in the darkness, his face completely veiled by the blackness of the shadow. He continued petting the first falcon as he gazed at three of his accomplices.

"Have the cages and other equipment been prepared, John?" he asked the first human, a man.

"Yes, sir," said the man named John, "We are also training our ravens to work with our falcons in catching and hauling back captured birds."

"Excellent," crooned Lysandre as he leaned back in his seat. His feet came up and rested on the table, one over the other. "Soon, we will be infiltrating the Sanctuary de Amazon using this new technique which will hopefully fool even the well-trained security guards and once we're in, we're going to be capturing as many of those rare Spix, Lear's and glaucous macaws as possible to smuggle out of Brazil."

He began to fantasize about how much money would come from selling those highly prized and tenaciously protected birds while three of his accomplices looked on and smiled. The first falcon named Cazador smiled alongside the other falcons, five in total as they looked forward to this illegal task with the ravens. However, one of them wore a fake smile as though it was not looking forward to it at all.

Ever since the Spix macaw flock's habitat, alongside the habitat of the other macaw flocks had been set up as a sanctuary, with the green and Lear's macaws being added shortly after, poaching and logging in the areas had been outlawed. However, this did not stop this group of poachers devising an ingenious plan in sneaking past these security defences disguised as ecologists and into the sanctuary, and their leader, Lysandre, was hoping that it would work. If all goes well, the plan would be a success. However, they had to wait for the signal first, and that signal was Tulio giving out the date of departure into the Sanctuary de Amazon, and Ernesto had that job of keeping an eye out for that.

 **Meanwhile**

Otis and his gang continued jumping from roof to roof, leaping across the narrowest gaps to prevent from falling to earth. They had been doing this for about an hour now, and Otis had kept track of their location by looking down at the busy streets. However, the cats, including Otis himself, were beginning to think that this idea was turning into a wild goose chase after Veggie and Catina. Despite thinking that searching for the two cats from above rather in the streets was a good idea in the first place, that glimmer of hope had faded after the group had spent an hour hopelessly searching for the two cats to execute their plan of revenge on them. After another while of this, some of the cats began to complain.

"Do we have to continue with this pointless search, Otis," muttered Adriana as she breathed rapidly from exhaustion.

"This is honestly very dangerous," said Hopper.

"As is fruitless," complained the white Persian cat. Otis was beginning to feel agreement bubble within him. Then after hearing more complaints from his comrades, he began to call off the search.

"Let's find another alleyway to settle in and rest," he said at last, much to the other cats' relief. Then after a few more leaps between houses, they found another alley to hide in. Like the previous one Otis and his gang had settled in, this one was untidy and looked like a rubbish dump, but it was a perfect place to hide. Otis then searched for a pipe leading to the gutter on the current building his group was on and once he had located it, he led the other cats to it. Then the cats began to climb down to the ground one by one. After Adriana, who had been the last to make the descent, had touched down on the ground, Otis led his group among the pile of discarded waste. However, before Otis could hide himself amongst the heap of trash with his comrades, he froze.

"What is it, now, Otis?" asked Tom slightly irritated. Otis raised a paw telling him to be quiet as he began to listen to a distant sound. Tom, with a perplexed look on his face, shared a look with Moggy and Adriana while Hopper, Paws and Tom organised the other, unnamed cats.

"Do you hear that sound?" asked Otis. Tom, Moggy and Adriana then cocked their ears and began to try and listen to the sound Otis had picked up. At first they heard nothing but then they heard what sounded like dreary groaning and growling, but it wasn't that of a dog.

"Sounds like a parrot having a bad day," said Adriana as she listened.

"A parrot?" repeated Moggy. Then Otis felt a hint of recognition bubble within him and he rushed off towards the entrance of the alley, which opened into the street filled with passing humans to see if it were true. Moggy, Adriana and Tom followed.

"Otis!" growled Tom but the black and white cat ignored him and continued running for the entrance. Otis then screeched to a halt and cocked his ear again to listen to the groans. Tom, Moggy and Adriana skidded to a halt just behind him. Adriana was wary of the passers-by.

"Honestly, I don't feel safe out here," she muttered in a low voice, "If we're spotted by any of those humans…"

"Shh!" commanded Otis, a paw raised to reinforce his message. Adriana reluctantly obeyed as the other three cats began to listen. The sounds that Otis had heard had increased in volume but it was too distant or too quiet for the four cats to pick out meaningful words, but the voice sounded familiar.

"Isn't that…?" began Tom. Then Otis carefully inched his head out of the entrance and peered around the corner to trace the sounds' sources. At first all he saw was a flurry of humans' legs but through a gap in the flurry, Otis saw a flash of grey-white before more legs concealed it. However, Otis had managed to get a glimpse of a pale yellow set of feathers on the form's head.

"It's Nigel," he gasped in shock. Moggy, Adriana and Tom reacted as surprise washed over them.

"Nigel!?" snapped Moggy incredulously.

"B-b-but I thought he has died," said Adriana.

"How can he still be alive?" added Tom. Otis then devised a plan as the greyish-white and yellow form flashed into view again. "We're going to lure that cockatoo here and catch him," he said, "I have a lot to ask."

He then turned to the other three and said, "Can you three help me in this please?"

Tom, Moggy and Adriana nodded in agreement.

"I'd be obliged," said Adriana, a smile replacing the surprise, "We haven't seen that cockatoo for years."

"There was something different about him though," said Tom.

"We'll see about that when we catch him and reunite with him," said Otis. Then he ordered the other three cats to prepare to lure Nigel towards their hiding place. At this moment, not too far away, Nigel continued trudging through the street. His feathers were still covered in the stains of the decaying fruit after Catina had knocked him into a pile of it earlier, and he was in a worse mood than ever.

"Just WAIT until I get my talons on that MISERABLE blue bird again!" he snarled, kicking a discarded can away. It was a surprise that nobody noticed him. Then Nigel began to spew out all kinds of awful things about what he would like to do to Blu and Jewel when he came across them again. as he continued to spit out these disgusting words, a squawk was heard.

"Hey, feather head," it snarled, "Can you shout that profanity somewhere else? We've got sensitive members of our group around here!"

At this, Nigel looked up and saw six pairs of tiny eyes belonging to six small grey birds glare at him from a ridge above a shop's sign. Those eyes were flooded with disgust. Nigel spat at the floor and trudged on.

"Pesky pigeons," he snarled, kicking a water hydrant which sent sharp pain sparking in his foot. Nigel grunted and held his talon briefly before continuing, but chirpy laughter sounded from above the same shop. At this, the cockatoo shot a glare in the direction and saw the same six pigeons laugh at him. Nigel let loose a snarl.

"How worse can my day get!?" he shouted and stormed off in a rage. Nigel soon neared the alleyway's entrance, unaware that some old feline friends of his were hiding.

"This has been like this EVERY DAY!" he screeched, "I'm starving in the streets struggling to find food, birds keep laughing at me, that traitorous calico making a fool out of me and forsaking the life as a smugglers' cat… this is just so insulting!"

Nigel then leaned back against the wall and slumped down, ranting and railing some more. However, he was in for a bit of a shock. As Nigel sat on the floor, he saw something out the corner of his eye. At this, he turned to see what it was. To his surprise, it was a white sheet extending out of the entrance to the alleyway, moving up and down.

"What…?" murmured the cockatoo in puzzlement. He then began to trudge towards it. However, he was unaware that it was one of his cat friends, Tom who was waving the white sheet up and down as a way to grab the cockatoo's attention. As Nigel paced towards the corner, Adriana, Otis and Moggy prepared to make the grab. Then as soon as Nigel was close to the corner where the wall turned at a right angle and extended into the alleyway, his eyes on the white sheet as it continued waving up and down like a flag, three pairs of cat paws appeared and grabbed him. Then the next thing Nigel knew he was pulled around the corner. Nigel cried out in shock, his crest raised but then a cat paw was slammed over his mouth.

"Don't be alarmed, it's us," said the owner of the cat paw, a black and white cat. At this, Nigel lowered his alertness as recognition crept into him when he examined the cat's face, and the faces of two more cats, plus a fourth, the one that had the white sheet. Just then, more cats came in and gathered around Otis, Moggy, Tom and Adriana. The all-black cat widened his eyes as they flooded with shock.

"Is that who I think it is?" he told the others.

"That cockatoo and the former star bird," said another cat, an all-brown one.

"Nigel," said Hopper. Then as the other cats gathered around their four comrades, Nigel stood up and scanned each cat with his brown eyes. There was a moment of confusion amongst them but then Nigel broke through it in joy.

"Otis, Moggy, cats!" he cried out jubilantly and with that, he hugged Otis and Moggy so tightly that they were almost chocked. Moggy raised a paw to pry Nigel's wing away from her neck but Nigel broke the hug with them and went round to hug his other feline friends. After this, the cats took Nigel away to the back of the alley and out of the sight of the passers-by.

"So, where have you been all this time?" asked Otis.

"I was gonna ask the same question," said Nigel. Then Otis decided to answer Nigel's question first.

"We've been in a pet's rehoming centre," he admitted, "But we've escaped after around three years."

Then Nigel noticed that one of the cats, the one well-known and infamous for his volcanic temper that always turned him feral was missing. "Where's Brutus?"

At this, the cats including Otis exchanged sombre looks with each other before Adriana finally answered the question.

"He's dead, Nigel," she said flatly. At this, Nigel's look fell to one of sadness and shock.

"He died while we were being taken to that pets' rehoming centre," added Moggy, "Shortly after our owners got arrested. Brutus managed to escape but he ran out into the road at the wrong time, and a car fatally struck him. We've been mourning for him ever since."

The other cats also bowed their heads with ears lowered, the grief of losing their leader overtaking them. Nigel also wore a saddened facial expression.

"I'm…" he said in a low voice, "So sorry to hear that."

The other cats didn't reply and continued bowing their heads, paying their respect to their former leader Brutus. After this, Tom took his turn in asking Nigel. His eyes landed on the green and yellow vest around Nigel's torso.

"What's with that vest around your body?" he asked. At this, Nigel sheepishly covered it with his tattered wings.

"And what's happened to your wings and crest?" asked Adriana.

"It's a long story," Nigel said, "But to cut it short, I, with my owners Marcel and those two dumb accomplices Tipa and Armando were flying with some caught birds out of Rio when we saw that those rotten birds had escaped their cages. I was sent in to stop them but only Blu and Jewel were left. After a fight, that miserable Blu sent me flying out of the plane with a fire extinguisher, directly in the path of one of the propellers…"

The cats all flinched upon hearing this.

"Good grief," gasped Adriana.

"That's got to be gruesome," said Tom. The other cats nodded in agreement.

"And you survived that!?" added Otis, "That's incredible."

Nigel sighed and raised his tattered wings. "But that came at a price. That propeller's spinning blades have destroyed my wing flight feathers such that I could no longer fly. Not to mention the mess of my plumage on my torso and crest."

Nigel then began to boil in anger as he continued. "And now I've been trying to find that miserable blue bird so that I can avenge him for the loss of my ability to fly and the miserable life that followed. I tried doing just that by following that wretched blue macaw and his pretty mate and three chicks into the Amazon…"

This was met by a shocked reaction from the cats.

"You… you went out into the Amazon!?" asked Otis incredulously.

"How did you manage to enter that dangerous place and come out alive, especially since you can no longer fly?" asked Hopper. Nigel was about to reply but then he had a second thought. He did not go into the jungle alone but with an anteater named Charlie and a frog named Gabi, the latter who was madly in love with him and after it was revealed that she was not poisonous, things took a turn for the greater embarrassment for poor Nigel. When Nigel remembered that and how the cats might react, he decided to tell them only part of the truth.

"I didn't go into the jungle alone," he explained, "I went with an anteater and a frog, but we were caught and brought back here, but that plan of revenge had failed."

"Did you come across that Spix macaw flock while you were in the Amazon?" asked Hopper. Nigel shot him a surprised look. "How did you know about that flock of blue macaws?"

"We heard about it while we were in that animals' rehoming centre," said Moggy, "There was a newspaper entitled 'Spix macaws found in the Amazon'."

"And then later, news about a flock of Lear's and glaucous macaws came out," said Otis, "Which surprised us greatly, especially the glaucous macaws because we thought those two macaws, one by the name of Pluto, were the last pair of glaucous macaws in the world."

"You've encountered two glaucous macaws!?" retorted Nigel in disbelief. The cats all nodded.

"Huh, wish I had encountered one," muttered Nigel, "But that's not important. All I want is to find that disgusting Blu and get my revenge on him for all the misery and humiliation he has put me through."

"Oh, that's brilliant," said Otis, "We were planning on getting revenge on one of our former group members, Catina the calico, for the death of Brutus and the loss of our future as well."

Nigel shot Otis a surprised glare. "That calico was the one who turned you in?" he asked.

"You've come across her?" asked Tom. Nigel then kicked a piece of cardboard as rage exploded within him again.

"That calico is just as bad as that rotten blue macaw," he shouted, "She's told me, to my face, that she has abandoned the life as a smuggler's cat in exchange for a housecat's life and threatened me to stay away from any exotic bird including Blu and his family. When I tried attacking her, she knocked me into a pile of rotting fruit and walked away, with another cat which I believe was a tabby cat."

Adriana's nose caught a whiff of the smell of rotting fruit from Nigel's feathers. At this, she flinched.

"Oh, yeah," she said repulsively, "You do smell like you've been swimming around in a pile of rotting fruit."

Nigel shot her a glare. "Well, I hope to dump Blu and that calico into a pile when we get our clutches on them."

Then Otis intervened and said, "Well, I think that's enough catching up, folks."

Nigel, at this, closed his beak. "I think it's time we resumed our search for Catina and her friends to avenge."

The other cats all groaned and reluctantly agreed to it. turning to Nigel, Otis said, "As for Blu, Nigel, sorry to dash your hopes but I'm afraid he might still be in the Amazon, so avenging him for your loss of flight I'm afraid, is out of reach."

Nigel breathed a frustrated sigh. It was true, Blu and his family could still be in the Amazon, but they were unaware that they had returned to Rio to spend the summer. Changing the subject, Nigel asked, "Do you know where Catina lives?"

This was met by the shakes of the cats' heads. None of them knew where Catina lived.

"I'm afraid we don't know," said Otis sadly, "We've tried searching from the rooftops but after an hour of that, we had no luck."

Nigel looked around until he saw a large cardboard box. At this, he went over to it and had a look at it. It was big enough to cover five cats and Nigel, like them, was determined to find Catina to avenge for her forsaking of her life as a smugglers' cat to become a housecat.

"Then we'll continue tour search on the ground," said the cockatoo, ahis beak creased into a wicked smile, "Using these as cover."

"But Nigel, we'd only have limited view of our surroundings," protested Otis.

"We wouldn't see much," said Adriana.

"But it'll disguise our presence from those humans," said Nigel insistently. He then got four more large cardboard boxes and passed them to the cats.

"Come on, start making holes in those things with your claws," he said, "I can't wait to get going."

Otis, at this, looked at the other cats. "Well, I guess it's back to the original movement on the ground," he muttered and began to distribute the boxes to his comrades and they clicked their claws to scratch out holes in them, having decided to go along with Nigel's plans of searching for Catina and Veggie on foot. After all, searching from the rooftops was dangerous.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5- catching up, James's cat and dog club only ideas**

Back in Susan and Lucy's house, Blu, Jupiter and company were still playing or talking. The chicks continued talking or playing with the young adult cats and dogs, while the adults chatted. Catina and Veggie had overcome their disgust of meeting Nigel while Ginger had returned to the living room after her mood had subsided. However, it was clear that she had been feeling rather moody for the past few days. While the kids and young adults continued talking and playing, either playing board games, simply talking or running around playfully chasing each other, Dash, Ginger, Veggie and Catina chatted with Blu, Jewel, Jupiter, Travis, Sunset and the other adult birds.

"So how have you lot been apart from the nightmarish ordeal with the fire?" asked Dash.

"Oh, it's been a fantastic reunion with my father," said Jewel, "His name's Eduardo and he's the leader of the Spix macaw tribe. He has an older sister named Mimi who's his aunt."

"Father and aunt?" repeated Veggie, "I remember you telling us about your family and friends back in the Amazon."

"We also had a happy reunion with our childhood friends including Roberto," said Zephyr. When Ginger heard Roberto's name, she raised her head in happiness.

"Roberto's alive?" she asked, "Oh, I'm so glad he's made it back into the wild."

She then sighed guiltily.

"Hey, why the guilty look?" asked Dash.

"I've been worried about him since I've let him escape our horrible home with that abusive girl when we were young," murmured Ginger sadly, her head bowed, "But letting him fly free was the best thing I could do but from there on, I knew that he would be on his own."

She then raised her head and looked back at the others. "It was the lesser of two evils, really. Either allow Roberto to remain in the nightmarish home to be subjected to more torture and abuse from that girl or let him fly free where he'll not face any more abuse…"

"It was not your fault," said Dash, "You knew that Roberto would be in serious danger of being emotionally scarred for life had you let him stay in that place."

Then Ginger cracked a smile and said, "But I am so glad he had made it back to the Amazon rainforest… and his own species. He once told me that a flock of blue macaws lived in the Amazon and longed to be back there from the miserable human's home we lived in."

Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Pluto, and Travis and Sunset made a sombre look each. They had been appalled at what Roberto had been through when he was a pet. No wonder he had become horribly afraid of humans, but the abuse he had received from the girl was obvious. He sometimes murmured 'Polly wanna cracker, Polly wanna cracker' in his sleep, implying he still had nightmares about that abusive girl. What Roberto had been through had reminded the eleven former pet parrots of the abuse Black Beauty, the all-black horse and protagonist of the book of the same name, had received from some of the owners. 'Animal cruelty is terrible and sinful,' thought Jupiter, 'God didn't intend animals to be abused and mistreated. Humans are supposed to look after their animals, especially if they are kept as pets.'

Then Zephyr moved on. "Anyway, it had been a tremendous time reuniting with our families and friends when we took a trip into the Amazon. Brisa and I reunited with our mother Gael, father Tornado, uncle Viento and cousin Gusto…"

"I reunited with my sister Pearl," said Ruby proudly, "She's now Felipe's mate."

"They've just had a clutch of three eggs," said Chiquitita.

"I was reunited with my half-brother Waldo," said Sapphire, "And first-cousin, once removed Rosalind…"

"I also met my friends after missing them for so long in the blue-and-gold macaw tribe," said Orquidea.

"Same here," said Esmeralda, "Especially Chilro, Chirrido and Amelia."

"I was reunited with my brother Marinho and uncle Flavio," said Ultramarine.

"So was I with my friends," said Cobalto.

"And me with my cousin Rudi," said Lapis Lazuli.

"Well, that's excellent to hear," said Veggie, "Looks like a lot of reunions have been going on. Not surprising really…"

"I thought the glaucous macaw flock had all perished when those bats attacked them," said Catina to Lapis Lazuli.

"No, they've survived but they have been living in vulnerable conditions as refugees after losing their home to the flying foxes," said Lapis Lazuli. She shuddered as she remembered seeing her tribe living like that.

"And their leader, Rudi who is Lapis Lazuli's cousin, and most of the other glaucous macaws," said Pluto, "Had been too thick and stubborn to see that his tribe was extremely vulnerable to getting killed by loggers or caught by poachers. It had only taken an enormous catastrophe to break through that shell of stubbornness and make them realise that they are clearly vulnerable and need protection. They have since moved in with a clan of hyacinth macaws called the Navyfeathers who have a large set of unoccupied trees in their territory."

"Whoa, looks like a lot of you have been through a lot as well," said Dash, "And… I suppose some of you had difficulties, didn't you?"

Blu then stepped in, a glum look on his face.

"I did," he said, "I found it immensely difficult to adapt into the Spix macaw tribe. One, I wasn't used to living in the wild, and two, those macaws had a bitter hatred of humans, no matter how well-meaning."

"My tribe and Lapis Lazuli's were like that too," said Sapphire.

"What's more," added Blu, "The Spix macaws were still in conflict with the red macaws but after the fight against the loggers, we made peace."

"We saw that flock of Spix macaws on the news about it," said Catina. "It was before Jupiter's group left for the Amazon."

"We have been having difficulties too," said Mercury. "I was pretty much on the same perch as Blu. The other Lear's macaws did not like my history as a domesticated pet, especially Valentino. Furthermore, I had a little trouble from Archie, Sapphire's childhood friend."

Sapphire sighed, remembering what Archie did to Mercury. However, she was still upset over the loss of Archie after the green and Lear's macaw tribes had made peace.

"Our tribe and Esmeralda's, the green macaws," she said, "had still been in conflict. That was another problem we faced."

"Yes, definitely," said Esmeralda, "It had been difficult for my family and for Mercury's."

Uranus breathed a sigh remembering that harsh time. Then Dash asked, "So how did you lot manage to find the macaw flocks?"

At this, Jewel shot Blu a slight glare. "Don't ask," she muttered. Dash, Ginger, Catina and Veggie's eyes then travelled down to the fanny pack still around his waist. Then it dawned upon them.

"Oh, I see," muttered Veggie, stifling an amused smile, "Blu used some sort of human's navigational device, did he?"

"How can you tell?" snapped Blu in shock.

"Yes, it was a GPS," said Jewel, "And it led us all over Brazil."

"We didn't bother with one," said Travis, "And just simply found our way to Manaus via instinct."

Suddenly, a small tussle broke out amongst some of the youngsters.

"Hey, Tiago, what did you do that for!? We're in the middle of a chess game!"

"Yeah, you don't just overturn our game like that!"

"Sorry, I was just playing a little prank! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"

At this, Blu called out, "Tiago, stop messing up Danny and Titan's game of chess at ONCE!"

At this, all eyes turned and saw Tiago, laughs escaping his beak, dart around and away as Titan, one of Saturn and Orquidea's sons gave chase. Danny was left, a bitter glare on his face as he looked over the overturned chessboard, black and white pieces scattered around it. Jewel then rolled her eyes and pursued her son, leaving the others to continue conversing.

"Tch, that youngest son of Blu and Jewel's, honestly," muttered Travis with a roll of his eyes, "He's just as bad as Rafael and Eva's rambunctious offspring sometimes."

"Oh, don't mention that toucan couple," muttered Ginger sourly, a paw on her face.

"Why?" asked Jupiter, "What's happened?"

"Did you have a fallout with them or something?" asked Venus. Inside, she knew that this was highly unlikely. Ginger was good friends with Rafael and Eva. However, there was one particular trait about Eva that Ginger did not like.

"No, we didn't have an argument or anything," replied Ginger, "Those two just happened to choose a spot near our garden to spend some romantic time together one night, and believe me, Eva almost shattered our windows with that screechy voice of hers."

"Rafael and Eva chose to have some romantic time together outside your house?" asked Sunset surprised.

"It was around midnight," muttered Dash slightly angrily, "Ginger and I were out doing some romantic stargazing together in the back garden when Ginger was having trouble sleeping- it was a clear night that night- when all of a sudden, the peaceful atmosphere was suddenly shattered by an extremely loud, AWFUL screech!"

"It sounded like someone had gone mad with a woodwind instrument and blowing the notes seriously out of tune, honestly," muttered Ginger. Some of the macaws, including Zephyr and Venus, stifled a giggle.

"The moment we heard that awful sound," said Dash, "We scurried around in the dark garden trying to find that source, when we found Rafael and Eva, the latter who was doing the screeching, sitting in a tree just outside our garden fence. I was forced to let loose the loudest howl I could muster to shut that screamer up and get the two toucans' attention."

"Had we not been there, Eva would have shattered our windows," said Ginger. She then stole a glance at Jewel as she reprimanded Tiago for disrupting Titan and Danny's game of chess. From a distance, Danny looked on timidly, clearly not liking the telling off scene, as he collected up the scattered chess pieces.

"I'm surprised that Rafael and Eva had chosen a spot near someone's garden to have some romantic time together," said Blu.

Then Veggie said, "It would not have impressed our owners and our neighbours, honestly."

"We wondered what it was out there, actually," said Catina.

"I did get into trouble with Susan and Lucy for howling like that, but since those two toucans were out of reach," said Dash with a frown, "I had no other choice. Then we gave Rafael and Eva a real telling off and yelled at them not to choose a spot near anyone's house next time. Rafael was not impressed but he did get the message…"

"Well, I'm glad he did," muttered Travis, "I never liked listening to his mate sing."

"Absolutely," put in Catina, "I've heard of cats with better singing voices and skills than that fingers-across-the-chalkboard voiced keel-billed toucan. She's just downright awful at it."

"If you said that about Eva while Rafael is around," said Blu sternly, "He might take offence at that."

"Did you know that we cats have sensitive hearing?" snapped Veggie slightly, "Honestly, the last time we heard that keel-billed toucan attempt to sing, it didn't half make our ears ring."

Catina flinched at that statement. Though she hadn't been with the group at the time the following morning after they had escaped the second group of smugglers, whom Catina had worked for back then, based on Veggie's report of hearing Eva 'sing' for the first time, she felt it must have been agonising. Then Catina moved on.

"Well, it's great to hear what you lot have been through," she said. Her eyes then travelled from one macaw to the next. "And I am glad that you lot have managed to settle into your new homes, especially you, Venus and Mercury. You both have achieved your deceased parents' dreams of finding other birds like yourselves."

"Um, well actually," said Mercury as he looked at Sapphire and Zephyr, "It was these two who helped us to find those flocks."

Venus then nodded to Blu and added, "Not to mention him and his family fulfilling my parents' dream of finding more Spix macaws on our behalf…"

Blu blushed at the compliment. "Hey, it was nothing really," he said, "We just wanted to help Tulio and Linda to find the Spix macaw tribe."

"Well you did," said Zephyr, "And we're grateful for that."

"Well, I think it's time we found ourselves a place to stay," said Jupiter.

"And I think it's time we checked our birdhouse which will be our home from tonight on," said Travis. Saturn then looked from Dash to Ginger and then from her to the cats and asked, "Do you four have somewhere where we can stay for the nights before we return to the Amazon and the macaw flocks?"

"The trees in which we stayed in will have been taken over by some of the birds by now," said Uranus.

"Now that's a good question," said Veggie.

"We don't know," said Catina but before the macaws could breathe a disappointed sigh each, an idea entered into Dash's head.

"Wait," he said, "Will the attic do?"

"The attic?" repeated Zephyr perplexed. Soon, the adult macaws, Catina and Veggie were in the attic, the compartment under the roof. Dash and Ginger were not able to climb ladders very well and stayed in the upstairs landing. The attic was where Susan and Lucy had stored all their old things such as photos which were packed in transparent plastic boxes. However, that was not important at the moment. The attic was accessed through a square-shaped hole in the ceiling and a ladder that folded down automatically when the trapdoor was opened. In one hole of the attic was a hole. It was not too large but it was large enough for an adult hyacinth macaw to fit through. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune looked around the space.

"Hmm, it's rather dusty here," said Neptune as he examined the spot, "But it will have to do. We have nowhere else to stay."

"I still think you should have chosen the birdhouse option, you lot," muttered Blu. Venus shot him a slight glare.

"As much as I would like to stay in a birdhouse, Blu," she said, "I prefer the more natural style of staying in a proper hollow. That's why we moved out into the community of your namesake sanctuary in the first place."

Blu sighed and did not reply. Then Zephyr said, "Right, that's the shelter sorted. Now all we need is some sort of makeshift nest…"

"Makeshift nest?" repeated Blu, "I don't know what will make a makeshift nest."

"You're the nerd bird Blu," said Orquidea, "You figure it out."

"Wait, Lucy and Susan have a lot of baskets stored in the kitchen," said Catina, "I suppose they will do?"

"We'll have to look at them," said Zephyr. A minute later, Veggie had returned with one of them.

He had left to fetch one of the baskets to bring back to show the macaws. The basket was not very big and was only about the size of an Easter egg basket. Zephyr examined it.

"Hmm, I think these will have to do," he said, "I've never stayed in an artificially made nest other than the one in the breeding chamber at Tulio's Aviary but I am willing to go along with it."

"Good," said Jupiter, "Now all we need is nesting material."

"We'll bring in moss and feathers from the forest," said Ruby, "And place them in those baskets."

"How many baskets do you have?" asked Esmeralda to Veggie, "We're going to need around two-dozen: one each for us couples and some for our chicks."

"Oh, Susan and Lucy have plenty," said Veggie, "I'm sure they won't mind you lot borrowing some of their baskets."

Then Saturn stood up and smiled. "Then let's get to work," he said.

"Alright," said Jupiter, "Some of us will gather the materiel while you bring in some more of those baskets Veggie and Catina. Thanks you two."

The two cats smiled in acceptance and left the attic to bring in more baskets while the adult macaws part from Blu began to prepare to fly out of the attic to look for some nesting materiel. While the adults were up to this job, back in the living room, the youngsters were still playing. Travis and Sunset had gone out of the house to check their birdhouse which was still present even after their departure to the Amazon months ago. It had gathered dust and was in need of cleaning but Travis and Sunset were willing to put effort into this task.

The young chicks and young adult cats and puppies continued playing and talking. Collette was chatting with Titan's sisters, Mimas, Tethys, Dione and Rhea about various things, while Avellana was listening to Bia and Ganymede as they told her a few technical ecology facts. Tiago was sitting by Jewel's side as punishment for disturbing Titan and Danny's game of chess, a sad and guilty look marking his face. He had apologised to the two players for overturning the chessboard game and sending chess pieces flying everywhere. Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon were playfully chasing Broccoli and Thomas around while Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil sat with Io, Europa, Callisto, Iapetus and Enceladus chatting with Eduarda and Esperanza. Eustace, Milo and Rosa had left with Travis and Sunset to check the cockatoos' birdhouse while Phoebe, Jasmine, Annette, Charon, Quincy, Flor, Blueberry, Indigo, Triton, Wilbur, Aurelio and Azul were sitting around chilling and talking. Daisy was busily playing catch with Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre, Chiquitita and Mars's chicks, being careful not to send the luxo ball flying into something breakable like a window or vase. This ball was the same ball Charon had attempted to retrieve from the garden guarded by the two Doberman Pinschers on New Year's Eve. Carla was by herself, listening to her Ipod in a corner. While the youngsters were up to these activities, a flip noise of the cat/dog flap was heard and a small light grey greyhound entered the room. At this, the eyes of his brother Danny, three sisters Avellana, Esperanza and Eduarda, and the four cats Broccoli, Thomas, Daisy and Collette turned and looked in the new arrival's direction just as Dash and Ginger came in to keep an eye on the youngsters.

"James, bro," cried Danny and with that, he trotted over to his brother and greeted him with a nuzzle. The three girls also came in and also nuzzled their younger brother as a gesture of greeting.

"How was your meeting with your two friends Nevado and Pelusa, bro?" asked Esperanza. Then Dash and Ginger walked in as Veggie and Catina rushed by to fetch some more baskets, before disappearing out of the living room to take them to the attic with four baskets, two each, in tow.

"Hi, son," said Dash, "You've just missed our meeting of our feathered friends."

At this, James looked around and saw the room dotted with the colourful feathered forms of Jupiter and company's offspring.

"I see," he said, "What are they doing here?"

"They've come back to Rio for the summer according to Blu," said Broccoli as he and his three siblings walked in.

"Yeah, a bit of a surprise really," said Collette. Then Justin, one of Zephyr and Venus's kids, flew in.

"Hi, James," he called and with that, he flew over to him and shared a talon-paw fist bump with the adolescent greyhound, a gesture of their friendship.

"We heard you had gone round to a couple of friends of yours," said Charlotte as she and Justin's two other siblings flew in.

"Who are your friends?" asked Matilda.

"They're called Pelusa," said James, "She's a female Shih Tsu, and Nevado, a male Persian cat."

"Oh, we would love to meet them," said Charlotte excitedly. This was met by a disagreeing look on James's face much to his surprise.

"Why the look?" asked Charlotte.

"Nevado is not safe for you birds to be around," said James, "He's not like Broccoli, Thomas, Collette and Daisy or Veggie and Catina who can restrain their instinct to catch birds. Nevado has a history of catching birds and sometimes eating them. He did that once to a pigeon when he was younger and had almost attempted to do the same to a canary his and Pelusa's owners once kept. If he meets you guys, he might try and catch you…"

"That's a good point," said Dash. He then turned to the four Spix macaw chicks and said, "I'm sorry, you four. I'm afraid you cannot meet James's friends."

At this, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil all sighed. Then Carla, the headphones from her Ipod still in her ears flew in and touched down before James.

"So, why were you around visiting a couple of friends of yours, James?" she asked. James smiled proudly.

"We have had a meeting to discuss ideas for a music club exclusively for cats and dogs," he said, "I have always wanted to open a club for those animals like how Nico and Pedro have a club for birds."

"I didn't know you liked music," said Carla surprised.

"Oh, yeah, I do," said James, "And so do Nevado and Pelusa. We're a real trio of music lovin' doggies and kitty, we are."

"That sounds intriguing," said Virgil.

"It sounds odd," added Matilda. From a distance next to Jewel, Tiago looked on with a sour glare and looked away. He was sulking for attempting to play a prank on Titan and Danny and interrupting their chess game in the process.

"Well, if you're thinking about starting a music club, son," said Ginger, "Then Nico and Pedro are the ones to have a word with. They know better about running a club than we do."

James then shot his mother a beaming smile. "Then why don't I go and visit those two?" he asked hopefully. Dash, however, made an uncertain face in reply to this.

"I'm not sure," he said, "They might be busy."

"Well, why don't you take James down and visit those two?" suggested Ginger, "I'm sure they'll be glad to see you again. It's been a while since we last saw them."

Dash, at this, cracked a smile, liking Ginger's suggestion. "It's a good idea, my love," he said, "I think I'll do that."

He then looked down at his son James and said, "Well, I guess you win in that question. Let's get ready to go down and meet the canary and cardinal duo."

James, at this, let loose a cheerful bark and began to prepare for another outing, this time with his dad. As James calmed down, Jewel walked in with Tiago by her side.

"I've just heard you discuss your ideas for a cat and dog only music club, James," she said, an intrigued smile on her beak, "That sounds like a good idea. I've never heard of a club exclusively for cats and dogs before."

"It's to be only for cats and dogs," said James, "With no birds allowed, obviously for natural enemy reasons."

And with that he shot a glance from Carla, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil to Broccoli, Thomas, Daisy and Collette. The four young adult cats understood what James meant.

"That's a good idea," said Jewel, "But the best ones to talk about this are Nico and Pedro."

"That's where we're going to go, Jewel," said Dash. He then said, "So, what's next for you and your family, Jewel, now that you're back here? Meeting your old Rio friends like Rafael, Eva and Luiz?"

"Yes we are," said Jewel with a delightful smile, "Rafael and Eva is our first port of call."

She then changed her face from delight to one of stern warning when she eyed Ginger. "And please, Ginger, can you not say those negative things about Eva please? Rafael will not tolerate you denouncing her singing as awful and 'fingers-across-the-thingie-board' or whatever you've said."

Ginger let loose a sigh and rolled her eyes. "Alright," she muttered reluctantly. Catina, as she and Veggie walked into the room to take a break from taking the baskets up to the attic, just made a face but said nothing.

"Well, I'm not going to have that keel-billed toucan singing anywhere near our back garden," muttered Veggie firmly as he and Catina sat down beside Dash and Ginger, "The last thing I want is any of us getting into trouble and accusing us of doing the screeching when it was in fact Eva."

Dash nodded in agreement before Jewel decided to get moving. "Anywhere, where's Blu?" she asked, looking around the room. Carla, hearing that Jewel was about to take the family to Rafael and Eva's, patted over to her mother's side next to her younger brother.

"Blu," called Jewel, "Bia!"

Carla shot Tiago a bitter glare. "Trust you to interfere with Danny and Titan's chess game, bro," she muttered. Tiago stole a sour glance at her and looked down to the ground. As Jewel continued shouting for Blu and Bia, Ganymede looked up.

"You mother wants you," he told Bia. Bia, at this, looked up and saw Jewel calling for her.

"Oh, aye, I'd better go," she said, "See you, Avalenna."

And with that, she flitted away to join Carla and Tiago.

"I hope you have a nice time meeting your toucan friends," said Avellana. Jewel continued shouting for Blu until a blue macaw with a fanny pack around his waist appeared through the door and touched down before her.

"There you are, Blu," she said, "Are you ready to go to Rafael and Eva's hollow?"

Blu, at this, shook his head and did a wing-palm. "Of course, I forgot about that. How could I be so silly?"

Jewel, with an amused smile on her beak, placed a small kiss on his beak. Dash, with a slight titter then looked at Ginger and the others with them.

"Well, we're off as well," he said, "I would like to get this meeting with Nico and Pedro done with. I can see James is very frisky about it."

"Well, you both go ahead and we'll see you when you get back," said Ginger. Dash smiled and after saying goodbye to some of the others and telling Esperanza, Avellana and Danny to be good, Dash left with James and the father and son disappeared through the cat/dog flap. Justin saw them leave.

"Well, I hope Nico and Pedro like James's idea of starting a club for cats and dogs," he said. Carla and Io stepped in. Io had just taken her Ipod from Blu as he had carried it in his fanny pack during the flight back.

"You know, we've been talking about starting a club as well," said Carla, stealing a brief glance from Justin and Io, "But we don't know where to establish it, either in Rio or the Amazon…"

"There is already a club in one of the non-owned zones near the blue-and-gold macaws' territory boundary," said Io, "And it's run by a blue-headed macaw named Skyla, a friend of Soleado and Zoie, the blue-and-gold tribe's leaders."

Skyla was a non-tribe or clan blue-headed macaw who lived as a resident on the blue-and-gold macaw tribe's territory with a close-knit family of other blue-headed macaws. She was an owner of a music club which was attended by various bird species. Carla, Justin and Io had always wanted to sing at the club but they were still too young to attend it as it was primarily for adults only with the minimum age being young adult macaws. They were still chicks and thus too young. Justin then glanced at Blu's fanny pack. "I'd better get my Ipod out of his belt pack before he leaves," he said, "I'd like to listen to some music too."

And with that, he went over to Blu while Carla simply returned to Jewel's side with Bia and Tiago. Io them smiled at Justin as he asked Blu for his Ipod which Blu gladly took out of his fanny pack and handed it to him. She then retreated elsewhere to listen to her music, dreamily gazing into space as she dreamed about singing in that club when she was old enough.

"Oh, I would love to sing in Skyla's club one day," she crooned, "Hopefully with a male scarlet or green-winged macaw…"

While Io looked for a quiet place to listen to her music, Jewel smiled at seeing that all four of her family members were present.

"Right, are we ready?" she asked. This was met by three cheers from the chicks. Blu simply smiled and did not make a sound.

"Then let's go!" said Jewel and with that, she led the family to the open window, the same one through which they entered the house and prepared to leave.

"We'll be back later in the day, you lot," called Jewel to the others in the living room and kitchen, "It's nice to see you again, Ginger, Veggie and Catina, and I hope James and Dash's meeting with Nico and Pedro about a cat and dog only club goes well."

"I'm sure it will," said Veggie.

"You have a good time meeting Rafael and Eva," said Ginger. Catina, Broccoli, Collette, Daisy, Thomas, Avallena, Esperanza, Eduarda and Danny all raised paws in a gesture of goodbye while the chicks also shouted it as the Spix macaw family then left the window and took to the air. As Blu and his family left the garden of Susan and Lucy's house, they all received a goodbye from Travis, Sunset, Jupiter and the others as they continued flying about looking for nesting materiel. Then within seconds, the five Spix macaws were out of sight.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6- Lysandre and his group's plans**

 **Meanwhile**

The streets of Rio continued to swarm by humans going to different places. Some of them were dotted with stands selling various things ranging from fruit to books. On the roads, vehicles drove about. In one street, five cardboard boxes were moving along the footpath or sidewalk, being careful to avoid being kicked by the feet of passing humans. The cardboard box sides had holes cut into them, providing openings for whoever was under them a view of their surroundings and, of course, where they walked. Nigel and the cats continued walking through the street with these cardboard boxes over them to conceal their presence from the passing humans, who didn't seem to bother or be aware about the five large boxes shifting about in the middle of the footpath. Under one of the boxes, Otis was leading for he was at the front of his subgroup. The cats and cockatoo had divided themselves into subgroups before placing the boxes over themselves. With Otis were Nigel, Moggy, Tom, Hopper and two unnamed cat grunts: an all-grey male cat and an all-white female cat. While Otis served as the driver and front viewer of the group, the other six kept an eye on the surroundings and back by peering through the holes carved into the sides and back of the cardboard box. The seven had to move in sync but sometimes that proved to be very difficult. The white cat and Moggy who were on the left would sometimes sway and push against the left side of the box, pulling the others and thus the cardboard box with them while Nigel and Tom would sometimes sway right and drag the whole unit with them in that direction. Hopper and the all-grey male cat who were at the back would also sometimes stop and bring the whole group to a halt. It was made more difficult whenever the group had to walk over obstacles like trash, and one of the cats would occasionally trip and stop the others in their tracks. It was the same with the other four boxes which were smaller; the other cats having the same difficulty in moving as one. It was a tedious and rather ridiculous idea to get around but Nigel's group had no choice. They did not want to be seen and captured.

As Otis's subgroup continued trying to move forward as one, Hopper's back leg snagged on a stone and he tripped forward, knocking into Tom and then Nigel in a domino effect. Nigel then slapped against the front side and the entire group fell down, groaning as they hit the floor.

"Careful, you six," snarled Otis in frustration as he lay on his front, Nigel next to him.

"This method is seriously too difficult," snapped Hopper from the back.

"We can hardly see where we're going," put in the grey cat, "Much less see what obstacle is in our path."

Suddenly, a bump sounded and the box covering Otis and his subgroup lurched forward. One of the other subgroups, led by Adriana and Paws, had bumped right into the back of them. At this, Adriana stopped her group and lifted the box with a front paw. Around the two boxes, the other two groups stopped when they heard the commotion.

"Will you guys not stop in our path," Adriana muttered through the gap, wary of the passing humans around the group, "You're holding the other subgroups up."

"Seriously, Nigel and Otis," put in the all-black cat, "This is a ridiculous idea."

Protests also sounded from the other cats but Otis managed to shut them all up with a shout from under his box.

"Look, this is the only safest possible option to get around looking for where Catina and Veggie live, you lot," he growled, "Now let's stop whining and start co-operating!"

"Yes, you feline moaners," added Nigel, "We've got a couple of cats to avenge for the death of Brutus."

This reignited the motivation within the other cats to continue but reluctance disallowed the motivation fire from getting any higher so the flame size was only very small. As soon as the group had sorted themselves out, they continued. As they trudged along, Nigel's mind was swamped with resentment of Blu and his family as well as every other exotic bird. Once or twice, he shot a glare at his tattered feathers and allowed the painful memories of how he ended up as a flightless cockatoo at the wings of Blu to come flooding back.

"Just wait till I get my talons on that blue macaw," he growled fiercely to himself. "If he were here right now, I'm gonna painfully tear his feathers out. See how he likes being grounded for what he did to me."

Otis heard this and rolled his eyes in annoyance. Nigel had been grunting about this for a while now.

"Those macaws are in the Amazon, Nigel," he snapped to Nigel's childish anger, "This is the _fifth time_ I'm going to have to tell you: Blu is out of our paws!"

Nigel shot the black and white cat a bitter glare. "I don't care! I wanna tear that blue macaw's…"

"Shut up Nigel!" shouted Moggy.

"'Shut up Nigel'?" repeated Hopper in shock. Tom and the other two cats looked on in surprise as Nigel shot Moggy a sour glare.

"Why are you telling me to shut up, cat!?" snarled Nigel childishly.

"Shut up, Nigel," snapped Hopper, repeating Moggy's rebuke. Nigel, at this, let loose a frustrated sigh and obeyed. 'Those cats treat me like a baby cockatoo sometimes', he thought.

"Thank you, Moggy, Hopper," said Otis gratefully, "Hopefully; Nigel will keep that beak of his shut."

"Yeah, his moaning about that blue macaw family is giving us a headache," said the white cat. Otis did not reply and continued leading the group along. The five subgroups continued walking along the pavement, the cardboard boxes over their heads for another fifteen minutes, but some of the cats were beginning to lose patience.

"See anything?" asked Hopper. Otis scanned the surroundings directly in front of the cardboard box, cat and cockatoo unit. However, all he saw were houses and the legs of passing humans. Nigel, however, was too lost in his disgusting mind to even ask questions.

"No," Otis snapped, "All I see are houses and the legs and feet of passers-by."

This was met by groans from the other five cats.

"We'll never find that traitorous calico and her little friend," moaned Moggy.

"Quiet, Moggy," snapped the grey cat, "You're honestly as bad as Nigel."

Moggy shot him a glare while Nigel just put an eye to one of the side holes to have a peep outside. He then looked around at the ground surroundings and then rolled his eye skyward. As he did that, He heard his cat friends' voices ring in his ears.

"This is getting incredibly boring, I can tell you."

"Are you sure you've seen Catina and her tabby friend, Otis?"

"YES! I saw them pass by the entrance to the alleyway! I was NOT seeing things, you know, Hopper."

Nigel did not listen to the music of the argument about to start up between Otis, Hopper, Tom, Moggy, and the white and grey cats and continued gazing into the blue background of sky. The sky was clear and the sun was beaming down, but it was not as hot as it had been in the drought. A few wisps of white cloud dotted the blue canvas and the sounds of the passing humans filled the air outside the box. Nigel sighed as he continued staring into the sky just as his six cat friends had begun to enter the realm of arguing. Then suddenly, Nigel's eye picked up some strange shapes in the sky. At first, Nigel flinched. He thought he was hallucinating but when he focussed harder on the shapes, he realised that they were real. There were five shapes, and they were all bird forms. Two were large while the other three were small and all five had blue feathers. One of the large forms had dark blue feathers and a fluffy neck while the other large form had cerulean feathers and a slender build. The three smaller forms, two cerulean and the other dark blue, were harder to make out but as Nigel focussed on the five blue bird forms as they flew off in a certain direction, recognition began to bubble within him.

"Oh, stop it you birdbrains," snarled Otis as he tried to calm the fire of fierce words growing within the box, unaware of Nigel's trancelike state, "Arguing is not gonna get us anywhere. I'm just as frustrated as you are, you know…"

As Moggy retorted, Nigel continued focussing on the five blue bird forms as they hovered in the air. He focussed particularly on the large blue form, the one with the fluffy neck. The moment he did that, anger and hatred began to boil within him like a volcano as he allowed the same resentful and painful memories to come flooding back. The smug and scornful look on that macaw's face burrowing into him as he had attached something to his leg, saying, "Not cool, man, not cool!" before sending Nigel flying out of the plane attached to a fire extinguisher. As Nigel remembered that and the ensuing misery and humiliation that followed, including being smothered with kisses by Gabi after his first failed attempt at revenge on Blu, the anger bubble within him finally burst violently.

"It's that disgusting blue MACAW!" he hissed under his breath. The sentence then carried through the air of the box and reached the ears of the six cats including Otis who turned their eyes in the cockatoo's direction in time to see him reach boiling point. Then before any of the cats could act, Nigel exploded into a violent outburst. With an enraged screech, he rocketed into the air and struck the top of the box, knocking the cover off his subgroup.

"NIGEL!" shouted Otis but Nigel, too blinded and deafened by his rage, then began to flap around like a fish out of water, screeching and squawking. His brown eyes were ablaze and his tattered crest was fully erect. As the cockatoo then began to flap around and screech, Otis, Moggy and Hopper began to try and restrain him while the other four cat subgroups stopped and lifted their boxes off of them upon hearing the commotion.

"What in the world is going on!?" shouted Adriana. But when she saw Nigel in angry hysterics her look of anger turned to one of surprise and horror. Then Nigel quickly ran off before Otis's paws could wrap around him and restrain him and began to flap his wings in an attempt to take to the sky. The cats gave chase.

"Nigel," shouted Otis, "Snap out of it, ill you!? You'll get us caught!"

Nigel did not listen and kept his eyes on the group of five macaws above, which were Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago, as they then resumed their trajectory somewhere, and began to attempt to take off. However, Nigel had forgotten that his tattered wings were no longer useful in enabling him to fly, so he began to try and fly on tattered wings. With Otis and the other cats hot on his tail, Nigel flapped his wings as hard as he could and tried to take to the air. He jumped off the ground and tried to fly but only fell back down to earth again. He did so with a thunk and landed on his front. Nigel got up and tried again but the same thing happened. He tried a third time but that failed as well. As Nigel crashed back onto his front after his third attempt, cats came around him. Some were horrified.

"We can see what you mean about you not being able to fly," said Moggy as she helped Nigel to his feet. Otis, however, wore a completely different expression.

"What were you thinking, you nitwit!?" he snarled as Nigel examined the sky, "You could have got us CAUGHT!"

"What is it now!?" asked Tom when he saw the cockatoo scan the sky.

"Where is that miserable blue macaw Blu!?" shouted Nigel as his eyes darted here and there, searching for the five blue macaws he had seen earlier.

"Blu!?" repeated Adriana incredulously.

"I saw Blu and his family, cat," snapped Nigel, his fiery brown eyes flaring with rage burning into the female grey and black striped cat, making her flinch, "They were right up there, in the sky."

At this, Otis looked up and scanned the blue canvas of the sky. Some of the other cats did the same. However, they did not see anything.

"Well, I can't see anything unusual," said the white cat.

"Neither can I," said Paws Then Otis glared at Nigel. He was very angry at the cockatoo's behaviour this time.

"What have we said about Blu and his family, Nigel?" he said, reasoning with the cockatoo. Nigel at this said nothing but replied with a bitter glare. However, when he saw over a dozen other pairs of cat eyes, including Adriana's, Moggy's, Paws's Tom's and Hopper's bore into him flooded with agreement with Otis, he admitted defeat.

"They're in the Amazon rainforest," muttered the cockatoo.

"Absolutely," replied Otis sternly, "And they're out of reach, so they're out of the question. Now STOP this CHILDISH BEHAVIOUR RIGHT NOW and start focussing on finding Catina and her friend. We've got two cats to avenge for Brutus's death."

The other cats all jerked their heads forward once and sharply in a harsh nod each. Nigel then sighed and reluctantly put off his revenge plans on Blu and his family. Then the group retrieved their cardboard boxes and covered themselves once again. It was a wonder that anyone had spotted these cats and cockatoo during the commotion Nigel had whipped up.

 **Meanwhile**

Back in Tulio's Aviary, the ecologists and vets were up to their usual tasks. Among them was Ernesto, and he was keeping an ear out for Tulio's signal to go out into the Sanctuary de Amazon. However, the team was getting ready first and were helping the other workers at Tulio's Aviary to tend to the injured birds. While the other workers did that, a couple were searching for Nigel. However, they had been unable to find him anywhere on the site, inside and out. Not even the breeding chamber had any signs of the missing cockatoo, but due to the distractions of the other, more important tasks, they had little time to continue the search. While all the activities of Tulio's Aviary was going on, one little animal was in a flood of tears. She was a cute fuchsia pink and dark maroon frog with bright mint green eyes. Flaps of skin, tattered and ragged, flowed over her eyelids, giving the frog the appearance of having eyelashes. This frog was normally cheery and mean, but now she was heartbroken. She sat in one dark corner of the breeding chamber out of the sight of the workers at Tulio's Aviary, crying for her missing love Nigel. When Nigel had escaped the aviary, he had managed to sneak out of the building via an air vent during the night when there had been fewer people at the place. The frog had been asleep and the cockatoo had slyly made his escape. He had been found missing the following morning but the observers had been distracted by more important tasks to devote more time into searching for Nigel. However, they were too busy to even notice the frog crying her eyes out. But that was the least of their worries.

While the workers continued their tasks, Ernesto, under the guise of an ornithologist, continued his work on observing the other, genuine workers and keeping an ear out for Tulio's signal. Once Tulio had done that, he will give his boss Lysandre a call and his group will then make their next move. Because Ernesto appeared so genuine, none of the other workers, not even Tulio himself, were aware that Ernesto was working for an illegal poaching group. Well, almost all of them anyway. While Ernesto was scanning the birds present, Fernando, the adopted son of Linda and Tulio, happened to come by. He was helping to tend to an injured toucan (not Rafael or Eva) and had been to replace a bandage covering an injury to its leg with a fresh one. When his gaze travelled in Ernesto's direction, he stopped and paused to examine him. Ernesto was acting gleefully and rubbing his hands together. Curious by Ernesto's strange behaviour, Fernando tipped his head to one side and went over to ask him. Ernesto continued rubbing his hands and laughing silently to himself when he found a young man with brown skin and black hair stand before him.

"Excuse me, sir," said Fernando, to Ernesto's surprise. At this, Ernesto stopped rubbing his hands, "What, oh, nothing, young man," said Ernesto quickly to cover up Lysandre's plans and his role in the Aviary, "I'm just looking forward to carrying out the tasks in the Sanctuary de Amazon once we get prepared to go. Excitement, you know, sometimes you have to let it out."

Fernando, at this, tipped his head to one side and paused before finally, he said, "Well, as long as you focus on what task you have to do when we go out there. That's the main thing," he stole a glance at the toucan waiting for him and then looked back at Ernesto, "Anyway, I'd better go. I've got birds to tend to and Dad wants my help in tending to a couple of injured green-winged macaws. I'll speak to you later."

And with that, the young man left. Ernesto breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was close," he murmured to himself silently. He did not want to blow his cover or it would all be over for his boss's plans, and Lysandre would not be impressed. After checking that no suspicion had been aroused, Ernesto turned round to continue to pretend to care for the birds. Fernando, however, stole a glance from Ernesto and felt a small bubble of suspicion grow within him. He felt that the ornithologist wasn't as genuine as he seemed.

While Ernesto continued his work and watch for the signal in Tulio's Aviary, Lysandre and his other accomplices and pets continued to prepare their equipment for the trip into the Amazon for their illegal business. Lysandre's minions, together with the six falcons and many crows who will be the helpers in catching the macaws, stood in a row like soldiers as their captain paced back and forth toughly before them. Lysandre's upper body was shrouded in darkness but his eyes glowed sinisterly as they bore into his underlings and pets.

"Folks," said Lysandre in a firm voice, "The purpose of this meeting is to ensure that everyone knows what they will be doing when we go out there and into the Amazon Sanctuary as soon as Ernesto gives the signal."

His assistants and birds stood there, their eyes fixed firmly on him obediently, like a platoon of soldiers gazing at their captain with obedient eyes. However, the obedience of all the birds was not as solid. One of the falcons looked reluctant and her eyes kept darting about the dark room.

"You know that patch of the Amazonian rainforest is now a protected nature reserve where poaching is outlawed," continued Lysander, "But there are three flocks of extremely rare birds in that patch, and they're worth hundreds of dollars. Though no other poacher would dare set foot in that area where security is tight, we are willing to do just that, and that is to disguise ourselves as ornithologists."

The others looked on as he continued pacing before them.

"Now everyone, listen up, this is very important," said Lysandre firmly. All ears apart from a pair on one particular falcon tuned towards their leader or master to receive the information. One of the female falcon's teammates elbowed her and gestured her to listen to Lysandre. The falcon reluctantly did so.

"Once Ernesto phones us with the signal that Tulio and his team are ready to go out into the Amazon," said Lysandre, "We're going to prepare our suits and equipment, the cages and net guns, and then we'll board our helicopters and head out to the Sanctuary de Amazon with our falcons and crows on board. Once we land into the Sanctuary de Amazon, I and two of the assistants will find Tulio and tell him that we are going to help them study the Spix, the Lear's and the glaucous macaws and other wildlife on the sanctuary. That will divert him and his team so that we can get on with the next part of our plan: capturing animals."

The others listened intently. "Then as soon as the genuine ornithologists are distracted," continued Lysandre, "The next step of our plan of capturing as many of those birds and possibly some other animals like monkeys and snakes, as possible will be put into action."

He then nodded to the falcons and crows, Cazador standing at the front, and said, "While we do our ground work, our falcons and crows will be sent out to locate those Spix, Lear's and glaucous macaw flocks and catch some of them for us, which they will bring back to us for us to cage them."

The others nodded to show that they understood. "And then as soon as we have caught enough of those birds," continued Lysandre, "We'll gather everyone up and then make our way back to our helicopters and escape and then sell our catches through the black market… and that is what we will be doing."

He then nodded to a few men to the far right of the line. "You helicopter pilots get your task of transporting us and the equipment to and from the sanctuary?"

The men nodded, much to Lysandre's satisfied smile.

"Good," said the leader, "We'll review this plan once more before we set out into the Amazon. Meeting dismissed."

At this, the line broke apart and Lysandre's underlings and pets scattered. Some left to prepare a meal for the group while some others left to check the equipment while Lysandre returned to his desk. As he did that, the leader of the falcons, Cazador, followed his master as he pulled back the seat and sat in it, before pulling out a book of some sort from a drawer beneath the desk. As he placed the book onto the desk top and opened it to flick through the pages containing all the species of birds native to Brazil, some of which had a tick next to them to indicate that they had been caught and sold before, Lysandre's mouth creased into a wicked smile. Cazador then sauntered to Lysandre's side and eyed the book with a wicked smile on his beak as he examined how many species of Brazilian and Peruvian birds Lysandre's group had caught and smuggled as indicated by the ticks next to the pictures of the birds.

"This is most, if not all, the species of birds of Brazil," said Lysandre to Cazador as two more falcons, a male and a female, landed in and walked over. The female wore an uncertain look on her face. Lysandre continued flicking through the book.

"We certainly have caught a vast variety of macaws, parrots, toucans and more, haven't we, falcons?" said Lysandre as he admired the trophies as indicated by the ticks. He then came to the page with the images of a Spix, a Lear's and a glaucous macaw printed and looked at it. Cazador and the other two falcons also looked at it.

"There they are," said Lysandre as the four gazed at the image of the magnificent blue birds. A hyacinth macaw picture was present but it had a tick next to it, indicating that Lysandre's group had smuggled a hyacinth macaw out of Brazil at least once in their illegal career history. The other three, however, were yet to receive one. Lysandre's eyes from his shadow-cloaked face then landed on the grey headed bird with yellow facial features and turquoise body.

"The glaucous macaw," he murmured in a low voice, "we've yet to smuggle at least one of those supposed-to-be-extinct birds out of Brazil. We're going to place an enormous price on those birds when we catch some of them…"

Cazador and the other falcon smiled wickedly as their eyes flashed with the fantasy of becoming rich. The female falcon, however, kept her face in a sad or uncertain look.

"It's gonna be awesome, the money we're going to make from those ultra-rare birds," cackled Lysandre, a wide smile marking his face, "And the Spix and Lear's macaws certainly will be nuggets of gold…"

Cazador continued gazing at the Spix, the Lear's and the glaucous macaw pictures and sniggered to himself.

"Definitely," he said in a low voice, "They truly are goldmine birds, they are."

Lysandre then closed the book and returned it to the drawer under the desk, before gazing at the three falcons.

"Now, Cazador, Swoop and Cometa," he said, "You three prepare with the other three falcons, Aliana, Bryony and Xerosic and some of the crows. I'm going to send you to Tulio's Aviary to check on Ernesto and his progress."

Cazador and the other two, Swoop and Cometa nodded and opened their wings to take off. As they flew away, Lysandre stood up. As the three falcons flew along, Swoop wore a gleeful smile on his beak.

"This is going to be epic, Cazador," he sniggered, "Flying out there and catching some of those ultra-rare blue birds. I've never really seen a glaucous macaw before, much less a flock of them."

"I thought they were extinct in the wild," said Cometa behind the two males, "With that family of six living on Rio's nature reserve. The same with the Spix macaws with those two breeding pairs living on the same patch of protected land…"

"Well, Tulio and Linda's discovery of that flock of Spix macaws in the Amazon," said Cazador, "has proven that statement wrong, Cometa. The same is true with the glaucous macaw."

Cometa, at this, stopped briefly into a hover before continuing on.

"You know something, I don't think this is a good idea," said the falcon as uncertainty crept in, "that we just step into the Sanctuary de Amazon intrusively and steal birds when poaching is now outlawed in that patch of land for the sake of the Spix and glaucous macaws' protection, and that of the other animals living on the area…"

At this, Cazador shot Cometa an irritated glare. "Why do you think our master came up with the idea of them dressing up as ornithologists in the first place, Cometa?" he growled. Cometa raised her head and sighed.

"To avoid detection by security," she replied reluctantly.

"That's right," replied Cazador with a growl, "Now come on and let's get prepared to fly out with Xerosic, Bryony and Aliana, and some of our crow grunts to find Ernesto."

Cometa sighed and reluctantly followed. She clearly didn't seem keen on the whole plans of sneaking into a protected reserve to illegally poach critically endangered birds like the Spix and glaucous macaws, but because she was apparently the only one against these plans, she was forced to go along.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7- meeting old friends, James's club idea, Nigel and the cats meet Lysandre's falcons**

Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago had flown into Tijuca Forest in search of Rafael and Eva's hollow. During their flight over Rio, the family had stopped by Tulio and Linda's cottage again so that Blu could leave his fanny pack there to save the effort of carrying it around all the time, so Blu did not have the usual brown thing around his waist this time. As the family of five blue macaws flew through the forest, they were surrounded by various feathered forms of various colours. The air was literally alive with the sounds of birdcalls and songs. Various species of macaws, parakeets, toucans and many small birds were flying around, talking, raising their chicks, or foraging for food. Blu and his family passed by a family of golden conures, a proud couple with two chicks. Blu smiled as he watched the mother applaud the oldest chick as it took its first aerial flaps, the father and its sibling looking on proudly.

"Man, I remember witnessing a mother golden conure teach her chicks to fly when I was little," he said to Jewel and his three kids, "Moments before I was captured by smugglers."

He then glanced at Carla, Bia and Tiago and smiled. "And I certainly do remember those three taking their first flight. It seems like yesterday."

"I remember you flying for the first time after we kissed," said Jewel lovingly as she remembered her and Blu falling towards the ocean, "I'm glad you have learned to fly. It has made things so much easier."

The family then passed by a small community of green-winged macaws. The red birds waved as the family passed by. Soon, the familiarity of the macaws' toucan friends' neighbourhood emerged into view, and Blu and his family made a beeline for Rafael and Eva's hollow. As they headed towards the tree, Blu looked down and saw the spot where he, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago first met Jupiter and company when they were under attack from Rafael and Eva's rambunctious kids and unfortunately, Blu and Jewel's three chicks as well. It was a sandy yellow-brown spot, a clearing in the forest.

"This is where we met Jupiter and the others," said Jewel, "When our three chicks were only a few weeks old."

"I remember that vividly," said Blu, "It was when Pluto and Lapis Lazuli were chained together and Jupiter had been unable to fly with a tattered wing."

"Look, Mom, Dad," called Carla's voice, "There's Uncle Rafael and Aunt Eva."

"By my calculations," said Bia, "I think we've timed our arrival perfectly."

At this, Blu and Jewel looked up and saw two familiar black forms perched on a branch. One had a white front and an orange black-tipped beak while the other had a red tinted cream front and a lime green magenta tipped beak. Both the toucans were cradling something and there were a few more bundles of feathers surrounding the two, each with an orange beak with a black tip except for two which had a lime green beak with a magenta tip. Jewel immediately recognised the small chicks surrounding the two larger forms.

"Looks like Rafael and Eva have had more chicks," she muttered with a frown. Blu then counted the number of small toucans surrounding the two larger forms of Rafael and Eva. When he had counted the number of kids, his beak dropped open in shock.

"They've had more than a dozen," he cried.

"Well, looks like we have more cousins," said Tiago with a smile. Just then, Rafael and Eva's eyes travelled upward and when they landed on the five approaching blue macaws, smiles crept into their beaks.

"Blu, Jewel, my amigos," called Rafael in his old, raspy voice, "Long time no see."

"I thought you were staying behind in the Amazon since the Amazon Untamed celebration," said Eva. Then suddenly, the small flock of baby toucans erupted excitedly from around the couple and rushed towards Blu and Jewel like a swarm of bees.

"Er, kids, kids!" cried Rafael but his protests fell on deaf ears when suddenly, two blue macaw squawks erupted as his and Eva's new kids, fifteen of them, began to pursue Blu and Jewel like fans after a celebrity. Carla, Bia and Tiago just fluttered over to their toucan aunt and uncle and dived behind Eva to hide from the swarm of baby toucans, much to Eva's irritation. Eva then began to try and call the fifteen new additions to her enormous family off from chasing Blu and Jewel as the toucan kids then began to pounce on them and pull at their head feathers. Blu cried and tried to pry two of the toucans from his head while Jewel shook her upper body to shake off more toucans clinging onto her back and neck, tugging at her head feathers. However, the baby toucans kept a firm grip on the two adult macaws. Carla, Bia and Tiago looked on in horror.

"Mom, Dad!" cried Carla as she watched her parents struggle to shake off the toucan kids. Rafael then stepped in.

"Hey, kids, STOP THAT AT ONCE!" he barked at the top of his voice, making the three Spix macaw chicks flinch. At this, a cloud of black feathered forms dispersed from Blu and Jewel and piled towards Rafael. Blu and Jewel flapped clumsily to a nearby branch and perched there to regain their breath and sort themselves out.

"This is just like the last two times when we first met you and then when Jupiter and his group were attacked," muttered Jewel indignantly as she brushed her ruffled feathers and crest from the small skirmish. Blu did the same with his feathers but said nothing, but he maintained an angry glare at the fifteen new kids of Rafael as they began to clamber all over him. Eva just sat there and did nothing. Another small toucan, another lime green and magenta-beaked one, peered out from behind her.

"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy," called the enormous cloud of toucan kids as they swamped Rafael, "We got 'em!"

"How many times have I told you not to pounce on strangers," growled Rafael in rebuke, "Roberta, Adriano… ouch!"

He flinched as one of the baby toucans poked him in the eye as he climbed over his head. Rafael lifted his wings and pried the toucan chick from his head.

"How many kids have you been having since our more-than-six-month stay in the Amazon?" asked Blu at last. Rafael looked up at him and smiled.

"Sixteen, Blu, ouch," he yelped as one of his daughters pulled at his head feathers, "And three more on the way."

Shock splashed violently over Blu and Jewel as well as Carla, Bia and Tiago.

"How many-!?" repeated Jewel.

"You must have about… 34 offspring now," shouted Blu in total astonishment.

"By my calculations, I'd say 37, Dad," said Bia, "Based on the fact that Uncle Rafael has three more on the way."

"You've been having kids like crazy, haven't you?" muttered Jewel. Rafael just put on a proud smile and stole a glance at Eva, who just let loose a slight huff, her wings crossed.

"We just love having kids," cooed Rafael romantically, eyes on Blu and Jewel. He then leaned romantically on Eva and nuzzled against her side. Eva, at this, put away her sour-faced look and returned the nuzzle. The many new toucan kids, at this, fluttered away and landed on the perch, wincing as they watched their parents then embrace. Carla, Bia and Tiago also twisted their faces into looks of disgust.

"I remember Justin telling me how Matilda made puking sounds and gestures upon seeing Auntie Venus and Uncle Zephyr kissing," muttered Carla, "The same with Io every time she and her two sisters and brother watch Auntie Ruby and Uncle Jupiter kiss."

"Yeah, it's sloppy," muttered Tiago, "Especially when Mom and Dad do it."

Blu and Jewel made an amused smile when they heard their son say this. Then after Rafael had finished the nuzzling session with Eva, he turned his attention to Blu and his family as Carla, Bia and Tiago returned to his and Jewel's side and everything settled down.

"So, my amigos," said the toco toucan, "What brings you back to Rio?"

"I bet a lot must have happened since our departure, I suppose," said Eva in a sweet voice, all sourness gone.

"Oh, so much has happened," said Blu, "Most have us have settled into our respective tribes, the green and Lear's macaw tribes have made peace, and a tribe of glaucous macaws have moved in with a clan of hyacinth macaws called the Navyfeathers…"

"Glaucous macaws?" repeated Rafael. He then exchanged looks with Eva. "Didn't I hear of the discovery of a glaucous macaw in the papers? We heard about it when we took a family trip to the city."

"Well, I'm so glad that Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Charon, Quincy, Flor and Blueberry aren't the last glaucous macaws anymore," said Eva proudly, "How many of those macaws are there in that flock? A hundred?"

"It is about half the size of my father's tribe," explained Jewel, "It's Lapis Lazuli's tribe, in fact. Those macaws had had a terrible tragedy involving a group of large, vicious bats that drove them from their homes…"

"Oh, you mean those flying foxes?" asked Rafael. He then made a dark look. "Fedor, the hoatzin who came to our Amazon Untamed festival has told me, Eva, Nico and Pedro about those dog-faced bats," he then felt his skin crawl and his spine cringe, "Ugh, those bats must sound terrifying. I hope I'll never meet those troublesome flying mammals."

"Yeah, and based on his report of them," added Eva, "That colony of giant bats don't sound very friendly at all, not like Basil and his colony who live on this site…"

"They're absolutely not," said Jewel, a scowl on her face, "They're a bunch of bird-hating flying furballs, that lot. Their leader is called Cicatriz and he has a mate, Iracebeth, and those two are downright bloodthirsty."

"Venus was almost slaughtered by a group of those flying foxes from Cicatriz's colony, in fact," said Blu. He shuddered at the nightmare Venus must have faced, especially straight after another, fiery one that happened before she encountered the group led by the deranged and violent Voldemort.

"It happened after the fire," said Jewel. She shuddered as the memories of her almost getting lost a second time in the inferno came to mind like floodwater.

"We heard about that disaster too," said Rafael, "Somehow the dry plants caught fire and hours later, almost the entire sanctuary was up in flames."

"It was a conflagration, honestly," said Bia. When Rafael and Eva gave her a puzzled look, having never heard of that word before, Bia explained. "It means a really massive fire. A lot of the trees and other plants on the sanctuary were burning."

"It must have been terrifying," murmured Rafael in a horrified voice.

"It was," said Blu. He then nodded to Jewel and continued, "But Jewel, along with Zephyr, Brisa, Tornado, Gael, Ruby, Chiquitita, Esmeralda, Orquidea, Ultramarine, Sapphire and Cobalto, had faced a fire once in their lives before. They were all torn from their respective tribes and clans, Jewel, and Zephyr and his sister and parents from the Spix macaw tribe. The previous fire is the second fire they had to face in their lives."

Jewel nodded as she remembered being helplessly trapped in the burning blaze, with every tree and undergrowth plant on fire and the sounds of wood splintering, crackling and the distressed cries of animals as they were trapped and burned alive. Venus had been put through the same nightmare Jewel had been forced to fly through the first time she had experienced a forest fire. It was not known how the most recent fire had started but most of the macaws had assumed it was simply the drought and the fire must have started spontaneously. Whatever the cause, it had been a devastating time for everyone in the Amazon but from the ashes, life had regrown and the colours of the habitats of the Sanctuary de Amazon residents had been restored. Then Blu moved onto another subject. His eyes travelled over the enormous number of kids sitting as a small crowd on a branch adjacent to the one Rafael and Eva sat on.

"Anyway, I still can't believe the number of chicks you've had in the past months," he said, "Why so many?"

"Don't you realise the serious struggle you put yourselves through by having so many children?" added Jewel, "Saturn and Orquidea are burdened enough as it is with a brood of seven, but you with sixteen…"

"I told you, amiga, we just love havin' kids," said Rafael, his wing slung around Eva's back, "We love being parents."

"Yeah, but not by breeding like rabbits to the point where you have so many to deal with," said Blu with a frown.

"What do you mean by that, Dad?" asked Tiago curiously. At this, Blu shot his son a glare when Jewel stepped in to explain.

"We'll explain to you and your sisters when you're older," she said gently.

"Why?" asked Bia.

"Um… it's a grownup thing," said Blu.

"That's right," said Rafael, "You're currently too young to know at the moment."

Carla, Bia and Tiago all sighed. Then Blu turned his attention on the toucan couple.

"As I was saying," he said, "Just because you love being parents doesn't mean you have to go about having so many kids. When we met you for the first time when Jewel and I were chained together, you were swarmed with those rambunctious little rascals."

"Ah, it was nothing," said Rafael adamantly, refusing to see that it was true that he was overburdened with so many chicks. He then placed his other wing on Eva's beak and stroked it lovingly. "While it's true that papa needs a break with all these kiddies giving me grey feathers, we just love being parents."

Jewel just shook her head in disapproval. It was clear that Rafael and Eva were overburdened with so many chicks, and they rarely hired a babysitter to help deal with the enormous number of offspring. Then the toucan and Spix macaw families continued chatting about other things.

 **Meanwhile**

Dash and James continued walking along the streets until they finally found the tent enclosing Nico and Pedro's club. The sound of samba music emanated from under the cloak and the father and son greyhounds could hear the song 'Hot Wings'.

"That's the song Blu and Jewel had their first dance to before they became mates," said Dash, "Jupiter and Ruby, Venus and Zephyr and the other seven macaw couples also had their first dance to that song before they became mates as well."

"Whoa, it sounds awfully noisy," said James in awe as he listened to the music that blared out within the tent-like construction. He then examined the design of the club. "That's exactly how I want our cat and dog-only club's to be when we come to construct it."

"Well, let's find Nico and Pedro but I believe they are inside busy with the club," said Dash as he tuned one of his ears to the sound. "Yes, they're. They're currently singing."

Just then a tall, pink flamingo-like bird with a long neck and legs walked past. He had a long bill with an enlarged lobe-like piece at the end, similar to a human thing called a spoon.

"Excuse me," called Dash to the rosette spoonbill. He and James trotted after him. The spoonbill, at this, turned and looked at the two greyhounds.

"Dash," he said with a smile, "Long time no see."

His eyes then landed on James. "Wow, your puppies certainly have grown up," he said, amazed by the change in James's size and height.

"Yeah, him and his three sisters and brother will be sold to new owners soon, Kipo," said Dash, looking down at James who just smiled. Dash then eyed Kipo the spoonbill and asked, "Listen, are Nico and Pedro busy in the club? James and I would like to have a word with them."

"Really?" asked Kipo, "Is it something serious?"

"No," said Dash. He then glanced down at James. "My son is into music and has an idea about a club exclusive for cats and dogs and would like to discuss it with Nico and Pedro. Are they busy at the moment."

"I'm afraid they are," replied Kipo, stealing a glance from the club, "They're performing 'Hot Wings (I Wanna Party)' at the moment, for a pair of green-winged macaws that had just become a couple but… you are welcome to wait right here until Nico and Pedro finish. I've just come out here for a break."

"Green-winged macaws?" repeated James, "Didn't Mars and Chiquitita dance to that song before?"

"This is another pair of green-winged macaws," replied Kipo, "Not your friend and his diminutive mate."

He then looked into space and wondered. "I wonder how those two are doing with their three chicks Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre. It's been a while since I last saw them and their friends."

"They've come back from the Amazon to spend the summer in Rio," said Dash, "With Blu and his family."

"Alongside Jupiter and the others," added James. Kipo looked at them when the sound of the song from within the tent became replaced by cheering. The three gazed at the tent.

"Well, sounds like Nico and Pedro have finished their song," said Kipo with a smile, "They should be coming out soon. I'll go and speaks to them and let them know you are here."

And with that, he ran off back toward the tent and entered it. "Thanks, Kipo," called Dash but the rosette spoonbill was already out of earshot. Seconds later, a swarm of colourful feathers leaked out from the club's tent. James looked on in awe and had been told by Dash that the club was called 'Paradise'. Among the colourful flood were two red macaws with white masks of facial skin, green and blue wings and a blue and red tail. The green-winged macaw couple were in an embrace, the male lovingly nuzzling his beak against the female's crown and she snuggling up to her partner's chest feathers. Dash and James smiled remembering Mars and Chiquitita's blossoming romance. Before they had become mates, Mars and Chiquitita had danced in a duet to Nico and Pedro's 'Hot Wings (I Wanna Party)' again and had their first kiss similar to how Blu and Jewel's performance would have turned out had those marmosets have not interrupted, and Zephyr and Venus before the cats interrupted months later. Behind the crowd of colourful feathers, Dash and James picked out a yellow form with a green and pink cap on his head and a red headed grey and white bird talking with Kipo.

"There are Nico and Pedro," said Dash. James smiled as Kipo then led the two birds, which were Nico the canary and Pedro the cardinal, over to the greyhounds.

"Well if it ain't Dashie the doggie an' one of his sonnies," said Nico in his usual hip hop/rapper -type talk when he saw Dash and James who smiled in amusement. Pedro then flitted over to the father and son and hovered by James.

"By th' looks of it, looks like your sonny is James, Dashie," he said, one wing around the almost-adolescent puppy's head. After all, what other puppy in James's clutch was a male with grey fur? The only other male puppy was Danny but he had ginger fur like his mother.

"Um, yes," said Dash with a smile, "We've come out to visit you."

Nico landed on top of a nearby trash can and cheekily lifted his bottle-cap hat.

"We haven't seen you in a while, Dashie," he said, "Been busy with your puppies with your sweetheart Gingie, have you?"

"An' how are Veggie and his sweetie Catina doin' with their kittens?" asked Pedro cheekily, "

"Yes," said Dash, "Our five puppies have grown quite a bit and are now adolescents. Veggie and Catina's kittens are now young adult cats."

"I think I got a glimpse of Veggie and one of his sons," said Nico as he spun his bottle hat cap in one wing like a basketball, "I believe it might have been Broccoli but it could have been Thomas. They were going for a walk and I just could not believe how similar that young cat was to Veggie."

"Broccoli and Thomas are quite a spitting image of their father," said Dash, "And it's like father, like son with Broccoli. He's strictly vegetarian just like Veggie and does not like mouse, fish or bird meat."

"Interestin'," said Pedro. Then James moved on to the main reason why he and Dash were here while Kipo left to talk to some of the attendee birds that had just emerged from the Paradise club.

"Now the main reason why we wanted to see you is this," explained James, "I have an idea for a music club like yours, but for cats and dogs only. As you will know, I'm into music…"

"A club for exclusively for cats and dogs, hmm?" repeated Nico with an intrigued smile, "Now that's an interesting idea."

"I'm planning on setting up and opening one with my two best friends Pelusa who is a Shih Tsu, and Nevado, a Persian cat. Those two live in our neighbourhood and are also into music. I have been around to see them to discuss this idea but I decided that someone who already has a club and who runs it would be more suitable to ask, and the first someone who came to mind was you two. You both are club owners and expert samba duo…"

"Well, I like your idea, James, for a cat and dog only club," said Pedro, "It would be great for the cats and dogs who live around Rio, especially Luiz," he then made a slightly serious face, "But actually setting up a club is easier said than done."

"What do you mean?" asked James. Dash continued to listen as Nico flitted over to James's left and perched on his head.

"Well, first thing's first you need a location for your club, Speedy," said Nico, "And you will need various materials to construct it, such as a covering for the club, some items to make the instruments, and a method to advertise it to the local cats and dogs…"

James's face, at this, fell slightly at these facts, but his determination to establish a club for cats and dogs only remained. "I'll probably bring Pelusa in next time so that we can discuss it," he said, "But I will not be able to bring in Nevado. He's one of the many cats who likes to catch birds and has sometimes eaten some in his history..."

Pedro then stole a glance at the attendees as they continue talking outside the tent and the tent enclosing the club itself before returning his gaze at Dash and James. "I think it's best if we discuss this later, you two," he said, "We're very busy at the moment and our attendees are preparing to return to our club."

"We'll see you later in the day if you'd like," said Nico, "Despite the fact that establishing a club is easier said than done, I like your idea for a cat and dog only club but I'm afraid we don't have time to discuss it now, like Pedro said."

"Okay, we'll see you later in the day," said Dash, "When and where would you like to meet us?"

"Will payin' you a visit at your house do?" asked Nico.

"That sounds marvellous," said James, "It would make it so much easier and save us having to leave our house to find your club…"

"Then it's settled," said Nico, "We'll see you both at around near sundown, and maybe we could converse with the other kitties and doggies while we're there…"

"Oh, you'll be surprised to hear but Jupiter, Blu and their group are back from the Amazon," said Dash.

"Really?" replied Pedro with a wide smile.

"Yes, they've come back here for the summer, we've been told," said James, "And will be going back to the Sanctuary de Amazon at the end of the period."

"Well, we look forward to meetin' them," said Pedro, "I can't wait to see how much their chicks have grown."

"Yeah," said Nico in agreement. Just then, Kipo's voice reached their ears, making the canary and cardinal glance in the rosette spoonbill's direction.

"We gotta go," said Nico as Dash and James prepared to leave, "We'll see you tonight. We send our regards to Veggie, Ginger and the others back home."

And with that, the two small birds darted off. James smiled.

"Those two sure have their wings full, don't they, Dad?" he said.

"Yeah, they're very busy;" said Dash, "Anyway, let's go home."

James smiled and trotted after his father as the two then walked in the direction of Susan and Lucy's house.

 **Meanwhile**

Nigel and his cat friends continued to walk the streets with the cardboard boxes over their heads. They had been moving around like this for a while now and still they had not found Veggie and Catina. Nigel's mind was still flooded with the same vengeful desires against Blu and his family and he still complained about not being able to fly and reaching them but he kept his concentration on helping his cat friends. The cardboard box disguised group had soon reached the outskirts of the same place where Nigel had assisted Fernando in capturing Blu and Jewel years earlier. Otis recognised the building through the whole in front of his subgroup's cardboard box.

"Looks like we're approaching Tulio's Aviary," he said and with that, he led the group toward the site. As soon as the group had reached a hiding spot where there was sufficient cover, they removed the cardboard boxes and trotted over to behind a parked car to examine the building closer. As they looked out and observed the workers up to their usual jobs at Tulio's Aviary, Moggy was hit by a flood of memories.

"It doesn't seem like yesterday since we invaded that place with Jack and Jill to steal those birds," she said, "Boy how time flies."

"It also doesn't seem like yesterday that Fernando and I stole those two disgusting blue macaws Blu and Jewel," said Nigel, wincing in disgust as he said the names of the two macaws he detested most. He then looked at Otis and Moggy. "So what birds did you steal when you invaded the place with Jack and Jill when you worked for Frank's group?"

"Well, as far as I can remember," said Otis, "Two were scarlet macaws, some were green-winged macaws but seven of them were extremely rare species: three Spix, two Lear's and two glaucous."

"Three more Spix macaws?" repeated Nigel in surprise.

"Two females and a male," said Adriana, "One of the females had an unusual pair of pigtails on her head and bright amber eyes."

Nigel, at this, widened his eyes in wonder. "Pigtails and bright yellow eyes," he repeated, "That macaw sounds familiar."

He then searched through his memory to recall the time when he had smuggled a Spix macaw with that unusual set of head feathers. "It was probably a chick," he said. An evil, sickening grin then crept into the disgusting cockatoo's beak, "I remember smuggling that little blue macaw chick with another blue macaw chick, a dark blue and teal-faced one, years and years ago."

"Really?" asked Moggy.

"That sounds like a Spix macaw chick and a Lear's macaw chick," said Otis, deducing the species of the two chicks Nigel had described. Nigel then let loose an evil giggle. "What's so funny?" asked Otis.

"Oh, it's nothing," replied Nigel, "Just rememberin' the distressed looks on those two chicks' faces and them mourning for their families. It sure is funny seein' pretty birds in utter despair, and seein' them feeling the loss of my beloved star bird career…"

"Oh, Nigel, you certainly are sadistic, aren't you?" muttered Adriana. Nigel's beak widened into an even more sickening grin. Then the cats refocussed onto Tulio's Aviary when they thought they saw a few flashes of colour in some cages carried by some of the workers through the entrance of Tulio's Aviary. Nigel observed the cages with the colourful birds in them.

"Why are those disgusting brightly coloured birds in comfortable cages?" he asked. Then Otis recognised two of the humans as they came out talking to someone else. At this, disgust coursed through him like an unpleasant bolt of electricity.

"Jack and Jill," he growled, "Don't tell me those two have also taken the choice to forsake smuggling those feathered gemstones as well, have they?"

"Well, based on their association with those conservationists, it would seem so," said Moggy. "They're just like Catina," snarled Tom with a slap of a front paw onto the tarmac in anger, "Cowardly pair of twin siblings. They always have been since they joined our team."

"Fernando was no better," said Adriana as she caught sighted a young man with short, fuzzy hair on his head and tanned brown skin walk out of the front door.

"Oh, he left my group," said Nigel, also watching Fernando, "He refused to co-operate and attempted to release those two blue macaws while we were loading those birds into the plane."

"Did he?" asked Otis. Nigel confirmed this fact with a nod. Then Hopper cupped an ear to the conversation between Jack, Jill, Fernando and one of the workers.

"Sounds like those four are talking about the Sanctuary de Amazon," he said. The other cats and Nigel turned their heads to him.

"Are they?" asked Nigel. Hopper then turned his ear to the conversation and began to pick out some of the words. However, because of the group's distance, Otis only got a few full words and more partial words, but he deduced what the four humans were talking about.

"Sounds like Jack, Jill and Fernando's group are planning on going to the Amazon," he said to the others, "Why, I don't know."

"Probably to check on that flock of glaucous and Spix macaws," said Moggy, "I know how much those conservationists value those two species, especially after they were believed to be extinct in the wild…"

Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice sounded behind the cats and cockatoo. "That is correct, cat."

At this, Nigel and the cats all turned round and saw a group of birds approach them. However, these weren't exotic birds. Six of them appeared to be falcons based on their appearances. All six had slate grey backs and ivory fronts and upper legs strewn with black streaks. Their beaks and lower feet were yellow and their eyes were large and black. At the end of the birds' feet were four lethal looking talons, each ending in a long, sharp, curved claw like a sickle or a scythe. Some of the cats such as Tom and the male Persian cat shuddered at the appearance of these dagger-like talons, but the falcons' beaks were just as lethal. The beaks were sharp, with the upper part curling over the front of the lower part, interlocking like the blades of a bear trap. The other birds standing behind the falcons were all dark blue to metallic black. Their beaks and feet were similar in form to the falcons' but were less lethal. Based on their features, these birds appeared to be crows or ravens. As the falcon and crow group stood before Nigel and his cat friends, Otis took up a defensive stance in front of his group.

"Who are you lot?" he growled. The falcon at the front who was the biggest of the six birds of prey, opened his wings, closed his eyes and smiled proudly.

"Relax, cat," he said causally, "We're not here to hurt you."

"But your presence is intimidating some of our friends here," put in Moggy, "Especially you falcons with those sharp beaks and talons of yours."

"And the presence of those crows don't help either," murmured Tom timidly behind Nigel. He then slid his eyes over the black birds and shuddered at their piercing eyes. All the crows had looks of meanness written all over their faces and certainly didn't look very friendly. Then the lead falcon stepped forward to introduce himself.

"I am Cazador," he said. He then gestured to the other five falcons and the crows. "And these are my assistants Cometa, Aliana, Bryony, Swoop and Xerosic, and our crow grunts."

The cats and Nigel only made slightly intrigued smiles.

"Oh, really?" said Otis slightly sarcastically, "Interesting set of names for a bunch of falcons."

Suddenly, a falcon face darted into his face.

"You're mocking us, cat?" growled Cazador in a suspicion tinted low voice.

"I didn't say that," said Otis timidly, shaking slightly at the falcon's sharp beak's proximity to his face.

"I could sense it in your voice," mulled Cazador with narrowed eyes. Otis's eyes, at this, travelled to the other cats and Nigel.

"This falcon certainly knows how to tell moods in how we say things," he whispered. Cazador then withdrew his face from Otis's and gazed at the other cats and Nigel. The other five falcons did the same thing.

"So who are your owners?" asked Moggy. Then one of the female falcons, Bryony, stepped forward.

"We belong to a group of poachers led by Lysandre, cat," she curtly replied, "One of them is working in that building Tulio's Aviary."

She nodded to the building to clarify her point. Some of the cats and Nigel stole a glance from the building.

"Working?" repeated Nigel perplexed.

"Yes," said Cazador, "His name is Ernesto and he's posing as an ornithologist in order to keep an ear out for the signal from Tulio, the leader of that group of genuine ornithologists, of when they will be going to the Amazon's sanctuary."

"Let me get this straight," said the black cat, "This Ernesto is disguising himself as a bird studier and has infiltrated that building so that he could spy on Tulio's group?"

"Exactly," said Cazador. Nigel and the cats exchanged glances.

"What for?" asked Nigel. Then Swoop, one of the other falcons, sauntered towards him.

"Haven't you heard what our owners' occupation is, cockatoo?" he growled, "Cazador mentioned it a minute ago."

Nigel, at this, timidly looked this way and that as though wanting to escape as the falcon neared him.

"P-p-p-poachers?" he spat as Swoop was now a few centimetres from him. Swoop smiled.

"Correct," he said.

"Our owners are poachers and they are aiming to enter the Amazon to steal some of those prized macaws," explained Aliana, "And Ernesto has been sent to Tulio's Aviary to spy on the group and keep an ear out for Tulio's set date that he and his group will be going to the Sanctuary de Amazon." Some of the crows nearest to her nodded in agreement. At first Nigel and the cats were clouded by confusion but then Moggy saw through the fog.

"You mean this Ernesto will be listening for this signal and when he does, he will let your boss know and then you lot will be going out there to steal birds?" she asked.

"That's right," said Cazador. Then Otis frowned.

"But how are your owners going to do that?" he asked, "That area of the Amazon rainforest is now a protected nature reserve with poaching outlawed."

"Ah, this is where a bit of sly ingenuity comes in," said Cazador with a wicked and gleeful smile on his beak.

"Sly ingenuity?" repeated Nigel with narrowed eyes as though finding this boring.

"Yup," said Cazador, "Our boss and some of his other accomplices will be dressing up as ecologists too and will be meeting Tulio and his team in the Sanctuary de Amazon where they will claim to help them study the animals on the nature reserve, while the rest of us, including us birds, will be smuggled into the nature reserve and sent out to capture as many of those macaws and other animals as possible while Tulio and his team are distracted."

"Our main targets are the Spix, Lear's and glaucous macaw flocks," said one of the crows. As these words entered the ears of Nigel and the cats, at first they were silent but then finally, Nigel broke through it.

"It sounds evil and like a fantastic idea," he cackled wickedly.

"It sounds farfetched," said Moggy sourly.

"It sounds risky," said Otis. None of the other cats spoke; unsure of what to think, but Cazador's gleeful smile remained firmly on his beak. There was also a hint of pride in that smile too.

"Yep," he said, "We will be going to the Sanctuary de Amazon, our owners disguised as bird studiers or even animal doctors, and then we'll be catching as many animals and birds from that reserve as possible to smuggle out of Brazil, and that's our plan in a nutshell."

Cazador's accomplices all nodded in agreement but one of them, Cometa, only nodded shallowly. However, she tried to hide her uncertainty behind a façade of an agreeing and evil smile from the others to prevent confrontation from her comrades. Then Xerosic, the other falcon, stepped forward.

"So, you lot," he asked, "Who are your owners?"

This was met by a disappointed and sad look on each of the cats' and cockatoo's faces as they exchanged sad glances with each other. Then Otis explained.

"It's a long story," he said, "But to cut that short, we used to be owned by smugglers too. We helped them to catch and smuggle birds out of Brazil."

"In fact," said Hopper, "We used to be one group but conflict and competition over money eventually drove us to split. Nigel went with Marcel and two other smugglers while we went with Frank and his accomplices. We were led by Brutus but now he's dead shortly after our owners had been caught and we were taken to a cat's home apart from one, a calico named Catina who has gone on to become a housecat."

"As for me," said Nigel, "I helped Marcel to search for and catch those brightly coloured pretty birds but my owners seemed to have ended up arrested too."

Then Aliana saw the tattered feathers on Nigel's wings and crest and the yellow and green vest around his torso.

"What has happened to your feathers?" she asked. Nigel, at this, glanced down at his torso and sheepishly hugged it.

"Oh, this," he said, reluctant to explain what happened, "This was… um…"

As Nigel hit a brick wall as his tongue got stuck in his throat, Otis took over.

"According to him, Nigel was outsmarted by a Spix macaw and was sent flying into the path of a propeller," he said, making Nigel flinch and shoot the cat a glare. The falcons and crows also flinched with an 'Ooh'.

"What a gristly fate to face," murmured Cazador in shock.

"How did you manage to survive THAT?" shouted Aliana. Nigel replied by raising his tattered wings to show the falcons and crows his tattered feathers.

"This is the result," he murmured, "And also, the unsightly mess on my torso which is why I wear this vest as you can see. I cannot fly anymore at all."

"Oh, dear," said Aliana in slight sympathy.

"And… was this Spix macaw responsible for your loss of flight?" asked Cazador. Nigel, at this, began to flare in rage.

"YES!" he snapped, "It's because of that blue macaw Blu and his mate Jewel that I can't fly. That is why I want revenge on him…"

"What have we told you, Nigel?" growled Otis in annoyance. The other cats also shot Nigel an irritated glare. Nigel, at this, returned the glare with a sour face.

"Blu and his family are in the Amazon," he snapped bitterly, "And they're out of reach!"

"That's right," said Otis, "So stop this childish idea of getting revenge on Blu and his family because it's not gonna happen."

"And besides that, you would have DIED in that hideous maze of the Amazon," put in Moggy. Nigel was about to retort when Cometa, having finally found some words to speak, interrupted.

"You went into the Amazon when you couldn't fly?" she shouted. Nigel shot her a glare.

"That is correct," he said, his temper calmed down slightly, "But I never was successful in getting my revenge on Blu and his family."

At this, Xerosic stepped in. "Er, about that," he said, "We were told that the Blu Bird Sanctuary is home to two breeding pairs of Spix macaws and a breeding pair of glaucous macaw. We might want to search for them to catch first before we go into the Amazon…"

"We might not have time, Xerosic, Tulio could give out the signal any time," said Cazador. Turning back to Nigel and the cats, he asked, "Do you lot have any owners still?"

The cats and Nigel shook their heads. "No," said Otis, "But we cats were going to be given to owners to be house pets but we weren't having any of it so we escaped."

"We wanna find Catina the calico to avenge her for the death of Brutus and our ruined future," said Hopper. The other cats nodded in agreement. Then one of the crows interrupted.

"Um, Cazador," he said.

"Yes," said Cazador.

"Shouldn't we be looking for Ernesto?" said the crow, "Those lot are taking us on a tangent from our task."

"That is correct," said Cazador. He then turned to face Nigel and the cats once again.

"I'm sorry to break up our meeting you lot but we have to go," he said, "We need to find Ernesto to check on his progress. We'll see you later."

And with that, he was about to take his group away when Bryony stopped them.

"Wait," she said, "Do you think those cats and cockatoo might be of any help to us?"

"How, Bryony?" snapped Cazador impatiently, "We've got to get going?"

"But Cazador," protested Bryony, "If those cats and cockatoo don't have owners and they have a history of catching and smuggling birds, they should be a part of our group."

Otis, at this, pricked his ears up in hope while Nigel smiled wickedly. Cazador, at this, walked over to the cats and cockatoo and examined them.

"But they can't fly like we can, Bryony," he replied, "And secondly, they might not be very useful in the highly dangerous Amazon rainforest…"

"Hey, we've caught and smuggled birds from forests before," snapped Otis indignantly, "And besides that, we were used for retrieving birds that have been netted once they have fallen out of the sky."

"I'm sure we'd be useful in ground work," said Moggy in agreement, "For example, suppose you dropped a macaw? We could help you to pick it up."

"And I'm pretty sure Nigel would be helpful in ground work too," said Hopper. Nigel, however, made a sour face, lamenting over his inability to fly, like always. Cazador thought over the information until finally, he reached a decision.

"Alright then," he said, "We'll take you to Ernesto, but you must prove to us that you can catch and cage a bird if you want to be a part of our group."

This was met by an elated cheer from the cats and Nigel and with that, they left with Cazador and his gang to find Ernesto.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8- preparations for the first night in Rio, is Ginger pregnant with another litter of pups?**

Back at Susan and Lucy's house a while later, Jupiter and the other adult macaw had finally made their nests, and they were ready to be used. As soon as Saturn had finished tidying up the last basket and had pushed it with the others, he stood back with Veggie, Catina, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto, Zephyr and Ruby to admire the work. Sapphire, Chiquitita, Esmeralda, Ultramarine, Cobalto, Orquidea and Lapis Lazuli had left to help keep an eye on the chicks with Dash and Ginger downstairs.

"Well, looks like we've done a pretty good job, eh, folks?" said Saturn proudly.

"Yep," said Zephyr, "Those baskets are prepared and ready for us to sleep in."

The group had used eighteen baskets, each filled with moss and soft tissue paper Catina and Veggie had collected from downstairs. Nine of the baskets were to be used for each of the macaw couples while the other half were to be used by the chicks. The baskets had all been neatly arranged in pairs around the attic so that each family could sleep in its own space. Neptune and Ultramarine's basket was the biggest due to the size of their species.

"The moss and tissue paper needs to be replaced every other day," said Ruby as she examined the moss and paper stuffing.

"I can help you lot with that," said Veggie, "I'm sure Susan and Lucy wouldn't mind us borrowing their tissues for your use."

"And I'm sure Broccoli, Thomas, Daisy and Collette wouldn't mind helping us in that task as well," said Catina.

"Well, I'd like to thank you two for your help in making our makeshift nests," said Zephyr gratefully, "We've managed to get all eighteen baskets set up in a matter of a couple of hours."

"And before our first night here in Rio too," put in Mercury. Neptune then paced towards the basket, his and Ultramarine's to-be-nest.

"I'm glad one of the baskets is large enough to accommodate my and Ultramarine's size," he said, "I'm also glad to have chosen this one as well."

"We did have your size in mind, Neptune," said Jupiter. Then Veggie asked, "Oh, I've just remembered. Susan and Lucy still have your cages. Why didn't you choose to stay in your cages again?"

This was met by the shakes of all nine former pets' heads.

"We've gone off staying in cages, Veggie," said Mercury.

"We now prefer to live as wild birds," said Venus. Mars then nodded to Zephyr and Ruby.

"And besides," he said, "Our wild-born mates have issues with us staying in cages and would rather have us live as wild birds like they and our chicks do…"

"We don't have issues with you lot staying in cages," snapped Ruby slightly irritated. She then sighed. "Not like before we softened our attitude towards you former pets, anyway."

"And another thing, Ruby does not like cages after her tragic history as a human's pet," said Jupiter. Ruby just shrugged but she agreed to this. Cages sometimes scared Ruby as they often brought back bad memories of her time as a pet of a group of abusive show runners.

"Okay, if that's your decision," said Veggie. Catina then placed a paw on his shoulder.

"Let's honour our feathered friends' decision not to stay in cages anymore, Veggie," she said, "They are, after all, wild birds."

Veggie smiled and nodded in agreement to that fact. Just then there was a flutter at the trapdoor entrance to the attic. The group turned round to see a deep blue and yellow-orange bird with a rich blue bib-like mark on his throat touch down before them.

"Blu, Jewel and their chicks have returned," said Cobalto.

"Have they?" asked Zephyr. At this, the colourful group of macaws and two cats followed Cobalto as he took off and fluttered through the entrance to the attic. Downstairs, the grown-up cats, puppies and the chicks were up to their playful antics under the watchful eyes of Dash, Ginger, Sapphire, Chiquitita, Orquidea, Esmeralda, Ultramarine and Lapis Lazuli. Broccoli, Thomas, Collette and Daisy were sat with Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel and Titania, Charon, Flor, Quincy and Blueberry, and Esperanza, Eduarda and James watching _Bambi,_ a Disney movie, on the TV, Justin and Io were listening to the music on their Ipods; Avellana and Ganymede were reading a science book, Danny and Wilbur were playing chess, and Charlotte, Matilda, Europa, Callisto, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan, Iapetus, Oberon, Phobos, Deimos, Alexandre, Aurelio, Azul, Triton and Indigo were sat around Dash as he read them a story from the _Chronicles of Narnia_ book series, specifically the book entitled _The Voyage of the Dawn Treader_. Virgil was with Esmeralda, discussing something. As the chicks and their mammal friends were up to these activities, five Spix macaws, a sulfur-crested cockatoo, a Major Mitchell's cockatoo and their three hybrids entered the window. Carla, Bia and Tiago scattered to join in with the activities with Carla flying over to Justin and Io's side to listen to her IPod, Bia joining Ganymede and Avellana, Eustace, Rosa and Milo joining Dash's group to listen to their favourite book series and Tiago making a beeline for the fruit bowl to snack on some grapes. Blu, Jewel, Travis and Sunset then touched down. Travis and Sunset had finished preparing their birdhouse ready for use once again and unlike their exotic feathered friends, they were not going to return to the Amazon except for the occasional visit. As soon as the four birds touched down, they were met by Jupiter and Cobalto's group.

"How is your nest making going, Jupiter?" asked Travis.

"We've just finished," replied Jupiter, "They're ready for use."

"Brilliant," said Sunset, "At least you'll have somewhere to stay for the nights until you lot return to the Amazon at the end of the summer."

She then turned to Blu and Jewel. "And these two have their birdhouse prepared and ready as well, don't you?"

"Yep," said Blu.

"We'll be returning to Tulio and Linda's cottage when the sun goes down," said Jewel. She then walked over to Broccoli's group, curious as to what they were watching.

"So how are Rafael, Nico and Pedro?" asked Cobalto, "We have yet to visit them."

"Oh, man, I forgot about those guys," said Ceres. Blu sighed.

"Well, Rafael and Eva are alright but they've been having sixteen more kids," he replied with a frown. The jaws of Catina, Veggie and the macaws dropped open when they heard this.

"What!?" snapped Mercury.

"Sixteen more KIDS!?" shouted Venus in astonishment.

"And three more on the way," added Blu, "Which implying that Eva has recently laid another clutch of three eggs."

Zephyr placed a wing on his forehead and looked down at the floor, shaking his head in annoyance while Ruby yelled, "Seriously!"

"Why would those two toucans have so many children!?" asked Jupiter incredulously.

"They must now have what? Like thirty-five offspring or something?" asked Mars.

"That is a LOT of offspring," said Veggie. He then exchanged looks with Catina and Jupiter. "Mind you, Rafael and Eva's first eighteen will have grown up and left the nest by now."

"Those two toucans are honestly like rabbits," said Saturn, "It seems that Rafael and Eva love to go through the cycle of have chicks, have more chicks, have more chicks…"

"Venus and Zephyr have enough on their perches with six kids while Saturn and Orquidea are the same with seven in a single brood," said Uranus, Zephyr, Venus and Saturn just shrugging, "But sixteen in a short space of time? I think Rafael and Eva must be obsessed with having kids."

"It would seem that way," said Neptune in agreement. Then Pluto narrowed his eyes.

"Let me guess," he said, "Those sixteen recent additions to Rafael's expanding family are as bad as their older siblings in mischief and lack of discipline?"

"I'm afraid so," said Blu, "Those lot pounced onto me and Jewel the moment they landed their eyes on us."

"Well, we're planning on visiting Rafael and Eva sometime this week ourselves," said Ceres, "And if we ever see those offspring of those two toucans, boy are we gonna faint."

Travis, Sunset, Veggie and Catina just said nothing. While Blu and Jewel continued conversing with Jupiter and the others with him, Tiago, after he had finished the last grape, greedily gulping it down, and then scanned the activities of the other chicks until his eyes landed on a small, plastic cup and the open window. At thus, an idea for a prank took root in the mischievous little chick's head. With a gleeful smile, Tiago flitted along and picked up the cup, went over to the sink and filled it with cold water, before flying to the open window. As he approached the window, he eyed his victim of choice: Virgil, who was flying over to the sink to get a drink after finishing his conversation with Esmeralda. With a snigger, Tiago flew out of the window with the cup of water and then placed the cup onto the top of the open window, carefully adjusting the window's opened angle so that the gap accommodated the cup, so that any macaw that opened it would receive a dowsing of cold water from the cup. Tiago also slightly tilted the cup so that it would fall on the victim.

"Heh, the bucket or cup of water-over-the-head prank is one of my favourites," he sniggered in a low voice as he set up the simple prank, "I remember playing this sort of trick on Kipo before we ventured into the Amazon…"

Then as soon as he had finished setting up the simple prank, Tiago admired the setup and was satisfied that it was ready to go. However, he had no idea that Virgil had caught a glimpse of what he was up to while he was drinking from the tap. Then Tiago flew over to another window to the kitchen, the one directly above the sink, and knocked on the glass to get Virgil's attention.

"Hey, Virgil," called Tiago from outside, "Can you come out here please? I wanna talk to you about something."

Virgil, with a small wily smirk on his beak, played along. "Okay, I'm coming out," he said and with that he flew off in the direction of the window. Tiago smiled gleefully and rubbed his wings, tittering to himself, looking forward to seeing and hearing Virgil's reaction and yelp when he opened the window, spilling the cup of cold water onto himself. However, Virgil had other ideas. While Tiago waited outside for Virgil to fall for his prank, Virgil's voice sounded from the inside.

"Hey, Tiago," he called, "Bia and Ganymede have a picture of a huge spider in their ecology book and they want you to have a look at it."

At this, Tiago stiffened his head and neck as he popped to attention like a ruler that had been twanged.

"Really?" he called in enthusiasm. Spiders were on of his favourite creepy-crawlies and he sometimes played the spider trick on Blu with Matilda whenever his father overslept.

"Yes," shouted Virgil in mock excitement, hovering near Tiago's setup. "Why don't you come back inside and have a look?"

Tiago, flooded with excitement and forgetting his prank set up, immediately prepared to rocket back into the house through the window.

"Alright, I'm coming!" he shouted and with that, he flapped like mad back towards the window. However, because he was so blinded by sheer excitement that he forgot about the cup of cold water he had placed on top o0f the open window! As Tiago opened the window to fly back in, the support dropped out from under the cup and it spilled its contents over the exact same bird that had set it up in the first place! A sequence of shocked yelps and gasps erupted from Tiago's beak as he was dowsed by the chilly liquid, before he flapped back into the house, feathers sopping wet and dripping. As Tiago stood there in bewilderment, laughs and guffaws erupted from a nearby electric blue chick. At this, Tiago shot Virgil a sour glare while he continued rolling about on the floor giggling his head off. Then more laughs sounded from some more chicks and some of the puppies and grown-up cats.

"Look who has fallen for his own prank!" giggled Danny and Wilbur at the chessboard. Wilbur was so overwhelmed with laughter that he fell onto his back and flailed his talons in the air.

"That was the dumbest move I had ever seen, bro," guffawed Carla with Io and Justin also laughing their heads off. They must have seen the whole incident as well.

"Yes," said Ganymede as he struggled to restrain the build-up of laughs, "It was just like Wile E Coyote getting caught in his own traps and contraptions each time he tries to catch the Road Runner."

And with that, he finally let the pressure of laughter explode from his beak. Bia and Avellana also laughed out loud.

"Honestly, Virgil, you've managed to outwit the claimed best prankster in the group," chortled Eustace, one of Travis and Sunset's chicks, "I wouldn't have done that."

"Neither would have I," laughed Rosa.

"Nice one Virgil," chortled Milo. Then the three hybrid cockatoo chicks continued laughing out loud. The other chicks and young mammals did the same. Broccoli was trying to stifle his laughs, but Thomas, Collette and Daisy were finding this impossible. Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette were on the floor rolling about laughing, Dash's group and the other chicks were also laughing their heads off. Matilda, however, tried to keep a straight face but she, too was finding it hard to stifle her urge to laugh, and laughs kept escaping through her beak. The adults including Blu and Jewel, however, looked more serious but they too were trying to stifle the urge to laugh. Zephyr then walked over to Tiago who wore a look of shock and bewilderment on his face, stealing a glance from his son Virgil who continued laughing on the floor.

"Well, Tiago," said Zephyr casually, but with a hint of amusement in his voice, "Are we facing a backfired prank, huh?"

Tiago just shot him a glare and then at Virgil.

"I'm gonna get you for this, pal!" he shouted in humiliation. At this, Virgil playfully got up and made a break for it before Tiago could grab him. Then a wild chase started up between Blu and Jewel's youngest son and Zephyr and Venus's second youngest son as two comets were soon observed flying around then kitchen and living room. Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Travis, Ceres, Sunset, Dash, Ginger, Catina and Veggie looked on with wide smiles on their faces, clearly amused. Sapphire, Ruby, Chiquitita, Orquidea, Esmeralda, Ultramarine, Lapis Lazuli and Cobalto also looked on amused.

"I was gonna do just that when he and Matilda had dowsed me with a similar prank set up in the tree," muttered Mars as he remembered how he fell for one of Tiago and Matilda's pranks.

"I remember you coming into Tulio and Linda's house with sopping wet feathers," murmured Blu through his concealment of his urge to laugh. Jewel then let loose a brief laugh before taking off to catch Tiago. Then as soon as Tiago had given up chasing Virgil around the house under his mother's command, he flew over to Blu's side and landed there, a sour and sulky look on his face, and everything in the house calmed down.

"Well, at least that has made our day," said Esperanza as she turned back to the TV screen to continue to watch the movie _Bambi_. James, Eduarda and the chicks with them did the same and soon, everyone resumed their activities. The film _Bambi_ was now on the part where the forest animals were escaping the devastating forest fire caused by the campfire of a group of hunters (simply called 'Man' in the movie). This scene startled the chicks and they retreated from the sofa and hid behind Dash or some of the adult macaws when Esperanza shook her head in realisation.

"Hey, this is just like what happened in the Sanctuary de Amazon," said James.

"Oh, no," murmured Esperanza, "We forgot that this movie has a fire scene."

Then Dash's voice sounded, "Fast-forward through that part, now."

As Dash went over to look for the remote that controlled the DVD player, Jewel happened to come by.

"Where's the remote?" Dash's voice sounded as he looked around for the device, Esperanza, James and Eduarda helping. When Carla, Bia and Tiago saw the fire, they also hid and cowered behind Blu, especially Bia, who shuddered as the memories of the terrifying fire came flooding back. Esmeralda and Ultramarine also quickly gathered up the chicks and kept them at bay until Dash could fast forward through the forest fire scene.

"Can you hurry up, please?" called Travis as he saw Zephyr beginning to shake, "That scene's scaring the macaws."

"I'm trying to find the remote," snapped Dash as he looked around the sofa, "But I can't find it."

Then he turned to James, Eduarda and Esperanza and demanded, "Where's the remote? What did you do with it last?"

Before the three puppies could answer, Jewel, who had her eyes on the fire scene as it came to the part where Bambi and his father were now escaping the flames as they consumed the trees, suddenly began to feel fear and terror bubble within her. The flash of flames on the screen fired up fiery memories of her traumatic ordeal in the previous fire and the one further back when she was torn from the Spix macaw tribe. Jewel then began to murmur and then tremble all over, her heart rate accelerating and her breathing reaching hyperventilation levels. Her eyes widened all the more and her legs then began to lose their strength and she began to feel the urge to flee, but her turquoise eyes remained transfixed on the screen as the fire scene continued.

"Jewel," echoed Veggie's voice, "Jewel, are you okay?"

Jewel didn't answer and continued whimpering at the fire scene on the movie, Dash's barks of increasing frustration at the missing remote increasing in frequency. Then Jewel began to really lose control. She trembled all over, her breathing leapt out of her control and her frightened whimpering increased from small murmurs to frightened cowering sounds, and her brain suddenly began to feel as though it was spinning as though Jewel had been spinning around so much.

"What's happening to Jewel?" sounded Ginger's voice.

"It's the fire scene in the movie," shouted Veggie, "It's frightening her. Let's move Jewel away until that scene finishes or Dash finds the remote and fast forwards the scene, quickly!"

"Good idea!" shouted Blu's voice.

As these words escaped Veggie's mouth, Jewel was now overcome with so much terror that she finally passed out, her vision being shrouded in darkness as the blurring shapes of Veggie, Blu and Ginger increased in size as the three approached her to remove her to a quiet place.

Sometime later, Jewel's vision began to clear as she began to come round. As her vision began to clarify from cloudiness to its usual acuity, Jewel saw a few familiar shapes, one of a cat, another of a blue macaw, another of a grey greyhound and another of a white cockatoo with a yellow crest, merge from blurry to clear. At this, Jewel groaned and finally came to.

"Oh, Jewel, you're alright," said Travis in relief. Then Blu leaned in and hugged Jewel. As the two blue macaws broke the hug, Jewel realised that they were in the landing or hallway at the foot of the stairs.

"What happened?" she asked.

"You passed out from terror at seeing the fire scene in the movie _Bambi,_ " said Veggie. Dash then breathed a sigh of guilt.

"We're really sorry about that," he moaned, "We didn't realise or had forgotten that _Bambi_ had a forest fire scene in it."

"It's finished now anyway," said Veggie, "Esperanza managed to find the remote which was under the cushion of the armchair but by the time she had found it, the fire scene had passed."

At this, Jewel, who felt much calmer, asked, "How are the other macaws and the chicks?"

"They're alright too," said Travis, "Sunset had led everyone to the attic until the scene passed."

"Yes," said Veggie, "I called them all back down once the scene had finished."

Then Dash began to ask Blu some questions. "Has she always had this intense fear of fire, what you call 'pyrophobia', Blu?

Blu shrugged. "Well I wasn't there as Jewel grew up," he replied, "But it would seem so, especially after the traumatising experience she had in the first fire as a young macaw which tore her from the Spix macaw tribe."

And with that, he shot Jewel a concerned look as she sat up straight. Veggie felt a pang of pity.

"It seems that even the smallest of flames scare her greatly," he said, "Even candle flames and electric fireplaces that have fake flames. I remember seeing Jewel having a panic attack when she saw the illusory flames in the electric fireplace next door while we were visiting Inky and Elsa and their owners."

"I've noticed that Zephyr, Sapphire, Chiquitita, Ruby, Orquidea, Esmeralda, Ultramarine and Cobalto also seem to have the same intense fear of fire, but Lapis Lazuli not as much," said Dash, "Looks like the former eight macaws have also had an extremely traumatic experience with that same fire that tore Jewel from her family and friends as well."

"A traumatising experience during childhood," said Veggie in horror, "It leaves a deep gash of fear on anyone who goes through it when they are young."

"You've got that right," said Jewel timidly. She then stole a glance at the door to the living room and kitchen. "Is the fire scene finished now?"

"It is," said Dash, "You're free to go back through there now."

And with that, Jewel got up, for she was now much calmer, her pyrophobia calmed, and the five left for the door. As they passed through the door, Dash felt a pang of guilt again.

"I'm really sorry about all this, Blu and Jewel," he said, "It's our fault. We didn't realise that the fire scene in that movie would scare you that greatly."

"She was honestly terrified, like how she was during the most recent fire," said Blu. Jewel quivered, remembering the previous fire.

"I'm not surprised," said Veggie, "I still remember that spine-chilling story of hers."

He then shuddered as he imagined himself as a macaw lost in the inferno. Veggie could not imagine facing such a horrifying ordeal, especially as a macaw chick or adolescent. As the five walked toward the living room, the final scenes of the movie were running. Throughout the kitchen and living room, the chicks had returned to their usual activities with most of them waiting for Dash to continue reading them the _Chronicles of Narnia_ book _The Voyage of the Dawn Treader._ Blu then got a glimpse of the sky outside through the living room window. It was a pale blue, typical of a late afternoon sky.

"We shouldn't be hanging around here for too long, Jewel," he said, "It's now late afternoon and secondly, Susan and Lucy will be returning home soon."

When Jupiter heard this, he whipped round.

"Oh, thanks for reminding me, Blu," he said and with that, he called for his group together. Jewel then smiled as she saw Carla, Bia and Tiago across the kitchen, Carla listening to her Ipod, Bia reading a science book and Tiago still sulking from his backfired prank at the wings of Virgil.

"And I'd better call our kids over too," said Jewel and with that, she shouted the three chicks' names. At this, Bia and Tiago looked up but Carla was absorbed by the music in her headphones. Bia nudged her firmly.

"Mom is calling us," she said. At this, Carla removed a headphone with a talon and looked up. When she saw Jewel gesture the three over, she said, "Oh aye, looks like it's time to go back to our birdhouse."

And with that, the three chicks stood up and flew over to their mother's side. As they gathered around, Jewel said, "Would you like to say goodbye to your 'cousins', 'aunts' and 'uncles', and Dash and Veggie's families please?"

Carla, Bia and Tiago obeyed and walked over to Jupiter's group who had also gathered, ready to leave for the attic. They were going to enter the attic through the hole in the side of the house rather than through the trapdoor as they did not want to rouse Susan and Lucy's suspicions that something was amiss. As Jupiter's group and family prepared to leave for the attic, Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago all said goodnight to each of the chicks and macaws and then Dash, Veggie and Travis's families. Tiago shared a rather reluctant goodbye with Virgil, for he was still a bit sour over Virgil's backfiring of his prank but despite this, Virgil and Tiago were still friends. Despite being a bit sour faced, Tiago did find it rather funny and was rather impressed at hoe Virgil had managed to lure him into his own prank. Then after Blu's family had said goodbye to Jupiter's group and Dash, Veggie and Travis's families, they flew over to the open window and then disappeared to outside, flying in the direction of Tulio and Linda's cottage, and their birdhouse, while Travis and his family also left for the birdhouse built and nailed to the tree nearest to Susan and Lucy's cottage and the other macaws left for the attic.

A while later, Susan and Lucy had returned home and as usual, they were greeted by Dash, Ginger, Veggie and Catina and their grown-up kittens and puppies. During the excitement, Lucy noticed something a bit unusual and out of character in Ginger's behaviour. Ginger looked downcast and moody again, and was not the usual cheerful greyhound Susan and Lucy were most familiar with. At this, she said to Susan, "Hey, Susan, do you think our Ginger could be pregnant with another litter of pups?"

At this, Susan who had been fussing Dash, stopped fussing the male greyhound and came over to inspect Ginger. Veggie, Catina, Broccoli, Thomas, Daisy, Collette and Esperanza, Eduarda, Avellana, James and Danny came over.

"Ginger looks moody tonight," said Lucy. Susan then inspected the rather grumpy Ginger to see for herself if Lucy's statement was true.

"Why is Mom moody again, Dad?" Danny asked Dash, "She was cheerful a while ago after our feathered friends left."

"It's hormones, son," replied Dash, "When a female dog is pregnant, her hormone levels change and it sometimes influences her mood and behaviour."

"Mom could be pregnant?" asked Avellana.

"It's a possibility," said Catina, "I remember her exhibiting those mood swings, alongside nesting behaviour and appetite changes when she was pregnant with you and your four siblings. These symptoms are no different."

Avellana, Esperanza, James, Danny and Eduarda looked on as Lucy then made the decision to take Ginger to the vet's for an ultrasound scan.

"Right, you do that while I'll prepare dinner," said Susan and with that, Lucy gently convinced Ginger to come along with her to the vet's. Ginger, despite her low mood, gazed at Dash and the others.

"I guess an ultrasound scan will confirm my pregnancy, folks," she said, a bubble of excitement under the low mood. She then sighed and said, "Boy, I don't half feel low. It's like I've had a bad day."

"Well, we'll see what the vet says," said Dash, "But it will be exciting to hear about the news."

"Yes, definitely," said Veggie.

"Have a good trip," said Catina. Ginger, at this let loose a snappy sigh in reply and moodily allowed Lucy to attach the lead to her collar. As the group watched the female ginger-coloured greyhound leave through the door with Lucy, her shouting goodbye to Susan and that she will be back in a while, Broccoli as surprised.

"That wasn't a very positive 'thank you' to Mom's friendly parting statement at all," he said.

"It's a symptom of pregnancy, Broccoli," said Dash, "Female dogs do have mood swings when they're expecting puppies. It's due to hormonal changes."

"You know something," said Catina, "In the coming weeks, Ginger will be demanding an awful lot of food and spending most of her time resting until her and Dash's second litter of puppies is born."

Dash sighed, remembering having to deal with Ginger's increased appetite, desire to sleep and mood swings last time. And now he was to face it all over again. Then the greyhounds and cats prepared for dinner as Susan, while she cooked her and Lucy's food, also began to prepare the greyhounds and cats' food as well.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9- Nigel and the cats meet Lysandre and his gang, the first night in Rio**

Darkness had finally come over the city of Rio, the night having consumed the daylight as the sun set. Flecks of white appeared as stars finally stepped out of the sun's sunlight, and the moon was hanging in the sky, a C-shaped sliver of silver. In Rio, the majority of people were going to bed as were the avian residents of the Blu Bird Sanctuary. Humans on nightshift jobs continued to work, however. While the daytime activities of Rio were becoming replaced by more and more night-time activities, in one part of Rio, a certain person with a group of animals were walking through part of the slums of Rio. Ernesto, the person who had been working undercover at Tulio's Aviary was walking back with his group's six falcons and some of their crows. However, the latter two bird types weren't alone for a third type of bird and another animal, a mammal, had joined them. Nigel and his cat friends had been taken by Cazador to Ernesto where they were introduced to him and had demonstrated their skills in catching and caging a parakeet. Ernesto had been impressed by the cockatoo and cats' skill and decided to take them back to base to show them to Lysandre and the others. This had put a hopeful and wicked smile on each of the cat and cockatoo's faces, especially the latter for he was extremely glad to return to the business of catching and caging birds, and the opportunity to access abusing his most detested type of bird once again. As the group walked through the slums of Rio under a cloak to prevent suspicion being roused in the surrounding humans, Tom peered out from under the cloak through a gap surrounding the group's feet.

"Boy, this brings back so many memories," he said.

"Memories?" repeated Swoop, one of the falcons perplexed.

"We used to live in this part of Rio with our original owners," said Tom, looking at the falcon, "Nigel's group also lived in this part of Rio. Our captured birds were locked in one of the rooms of our houses."

"Well, we have a base in this part of Rio too," said Bryony proudly, "But it's much bigger as you will see in a minute."

Tom smiled, clearly looking forward to seeing Ernesto's group's base and meeting his boss and comrades, and turned to watch where he planted his feet and where he was going. Among the group of cats, a cage was being carried and in that cage was the captured parakeet, a golden conure. The golden conure was extremely frightened, and based on the fright-filled look in its eyes; it clearly did not like this shady group. As the conure continued murmuring in despair, its fate uncertain, Nigel pierced it with a sadistic look on his face like a laser beam.

"Music to my ears," he crooned, "That is exactly how I want Blu and his family to suffer…"

His mentioning of the Spix macaw family stirred annoyance within Otis and some of the other cats and they let loose a frustrated sigh each.

"When is that cockatoo gonna stop yapping on about Blu and his family!?" hissed the black and white cat under his breath. Moggy rolled her eyes, also sick of listening to the same song from Nigel as well.

"He just wouldn't stop thinking about those blue birds," she growled, "They're in the Amazon! How many times do we have to tell that deaf cockatoo about this!?"

As she said this, a pair of falcon eyes pierced her. Moggy flinched as she saw the pair of big gems gaze at her like a pair of spider's eyes. They were sinister and frightening like one.

"Did you say something about this Blu bird and his family being in the Amazon, cat?" asked the falcon which was Xerosic. Moggy shot the bird-of-prey a glare.

"The name's Moggy," she snapped.

"Whatever," crooned Xerosic.

"Yes, I was talking about Blu and is family," said Moggy, "Nigel, our cockatoo friend has been on and on about that all day. He wants revenge on them but unfortunately, he's not going to get it as those five Spix macaws are in the Amazon."

"Er… they actually do live on the Blu Bird Sanctuary, cat," said Xerosic, "Cazador is thinking about sending one of us out there to locate them… together with that other Spix macaw family and families of the glaucous macaws and Lear's macaws."

Moggy shot Xerosic a rebuking glare, glancing at Nigel.

"Shush," she hissed, "You'd rouse Nigel's attention. We've had enough of him muttering on about getting revenge on Blu and his family as it is."

Xerosic rolled his eyes at Moggy's boldness. "We will not have cheek like that from you, cat, especially Cazador. Watch your manners next time."

And with that, he turned to face the direction the group was travelling in, leaving Moggy to huff.

"'We will not have cheek like that from you, cat, especially Cazador. Watch your manners next time'" she wittered under her breath, disdainfully mimicking Xerosic's sentence, "Yeah, right, but wait until you listen to Nigel's music about getting revenge on Blu and his family. You'll see what we mean."

And with that, she focussed on keeping in sync with the others so as to avoid getting side-tracked and bumping into the other cats and the crows.

The group continued walking through the streets of the slums until finally; they stopped before a large building. This building was old, worn and ramshackle with many parts of it in disrepair. The windows were cracked or broken, much like the building Otis's group and owners group stayed in when Otis and his group used to be owned by Frank and when Brutus was alive. As the group stopped outside the door, Ernesto knocked on it and waited. After a minute or two, the door clicked open and the cloaked group went inside. As they entered the building and the door was closed by one of Ernesto's comrades, Ernesto unlocked himself and the animals, allowing the cats and Nigel to see the interior of the building for the first time. Cazador flew off to fetch Lysandre and the other poachers and crows while Otis, the other cats and Nigel began to examine the building.

"Whoa," cried Otis, his eyes swollen with awe, "Look at the size of this place."

"It much larger than the building we stayed in with our former owners," said Moggy as she looked around. Then Adriana looked at Swoop.

"How many other crows and falcons are there besides you and the other five including your leader, and these crows here?" she asked, gesturing with a front paw to the crows that had accompanied the six falcons when they were sent out to meet Ernesto.

"There aren't any other falcons but there are dozens and dozens of other crows," replied Swoop, "They're our grunts and help us in our work in catching birds."

"How well can those crows catch birds?" asked Tom. When Nigel heard Tom ask this question, he shot the cat a glare as Swoop replied, "Oh, very well, especially aerially, like we can."

A green triffid of jealousy sprouted within Nigel and radiated from his brown eyes. Then thoughts of his loss of flight at Blu's clutches made him boil with the desire for revenge against that brown-eyed Spix macaw all the more. However, none of the cats seemed to have noticed Nigel's jealous mood, especially Tom who was in awe of Swoop's claim that his group and the crows could catch birds skilfully in the air. The cats that carried the parakeet in its cage also smiled on admiration.

"I would like to see your skills in action," said Tom excitedly.

"Yeah, definitely, as would us," said one of the unnamed cat grunts, a grey female. Swoop closed his eyes, smiled and raised his wings.

"Let's just introduce you to our boss and other owners and crows first," he said. Soon, the other owners of the flacons and crows and Ernesto's groupmates and boss emerged from the shadows and walked towards Ernesto and the others with him. Ernesto walked straight over to Lysandre who was in front of the group.

"Hi, boss," he asked and the moment he was near to him, he shook hands with his boss. Nigel looked on in wonder.

"That's your boss?" he asked.

"It is, and his name's Lysandre," said Bryony. Moggy then looked at Bryony, curiosity emanating from her face.

"Does Lysandre treat his pets and accomplices well?" she asked, "I know Marcel was rather tough on his two comrades, Tipa and Armando…"

"Oh, don't mention those two numskulls;" muttered Nigel in dislike, "They never knew how to do their job very well…"

"Lysandre treats his underlings and us very well," said Bryony with a proud smile, "But the only time he gets angry with them if he's impatient or if they make a mistake, especially during a big important task. He does not like inconveniences to his plans or them going wrong..."

"Oh, so he isn't always impatient with his accomplices?" said Otis, "Frank, our former owner treated Vera, Marvin and Luke quite well…"

Just then Cazador flew in and landed before the group.

"Lysandre would like to see the cats and the cockatoo please," he said. At this, Bryony, Swoop and some of the crows gathered around Nigel, Otis and their gang including the cats who carried the caged parakeet and were guided towards the boss of the poaching group. Some of the cats exchanged glances with one another as they were ushered forward until they found themselves standing before Ernesto's boss. Lysandre was a very tall, well-built man. His eyes were a shade of blue and he wore glasses. His hair was bushy and spiked out like the fur of a cat whenever it got angry, and was coloured a very dark brown. Behind Lysandre, several more humans with more crows stood. Ernesto then introduced Nigel and the cats to Lysandre.

"This cockatoo and these cats were found by Cazador and his five falcon minions and crows that went with him, sir," said Ernesto, gesturing to the small group of cats and cockatoo, "And they had demonstrated to me that they can catch and cage a bird, as they had done with this parakeet."

He then launched into an explanation of how they did it. At this, the cats holding the cage containing the frightened golden conure then approached Lysandre. Lysandre knelt down and placed his hands on the cage and took it from the cats. he then examined the conure up close as some of Ernesto's groupmates then began to examine Nigel and the cats.

"So you're saying that those cats had captured that bird, Ernesto?" said one of the other minions, John.

"Yes," said Ernesto, "And I'm wondering if these cats and cockatoo would make a great part of our team."

"But Ernesto," protested a female grunt, "Those are cats and cats cannot fly. We usually use aerial animals to catch our targets…"

"Yes but I'm sure these cats would help us with ground work," said Ernesto insistently. He really wanted these cats and Nigel to be part of the team after witnessing them work together to catch the golden conure. "They showed their skills to me."

The falcons and crows looked on, but one of the falcons looked uncertain. Cometa was examining Nigel and was shocked to see that this was the same cockatoo that was once a star bird for she had seen some old merchandise of him, such as posters, for sale in an old charity shop when she was a fledgling. How Nigel ended up joining a group of smugglers, she did not understand well but she believed it might have had something to do with something happening to the once famous cockatoo's career involving a parakeet. Then John examined Nigel. He knelt down to look at the greyish-white bird wearing a green and yellow vest closer.

"This cockatoo looks an utter mess," he said, "Look how tatty his crest and wing feathers are."

Nigel, his eyes blinking with slight hurt and anger, opened his wings and glared at the tattered feathers in his wings once again as Lysandre then passed the caged conure to one of the other assistants.

"Put this bird into the storeroom, Gale, thank you," he said to another woman named Gale. Gale took the cage and left while Lysandre turned back to look at the cats and cockatoo.

"So, what do you think, sir?" asked Ernesto, hope in his eyes that Lysandre would add the cats and Nigel to the team. Swoop and Bryony also smiled, as did some of the crow grunts, for they looked rather impressed at Nigel and the cats' bird catching skills after observing them implement them on catching the conure. Aliana, Xerosic and some of the other crows, on the other hand, did not look as certain. The team had never had non-flying animals as part of it before, and they weren't sure how the cats' skills could be useful in the big illegal plan ahead. Cometa and Cazador did not know what to think, Cometa seemingly not liking the idea of cats on the team because of the targets of the poaching group, and Nigel for various reasons, and Cazador, while impressed with the cats and Nigel's bird catching skills, especially Nigel despite not being able to fly, was uncertain whether to agree that Nigel and the cats be added on the team or not. Lysandre continued thinking, going over Ernesto's explanation of how the cats and Nigel had caught the conure.

"Hmm, those cats are ground animals," said the boss, his hand on his chin as he pondered, "And we've never had any ground animals on our team before…"

"This cockatoo also can't fly," said Ernesto, "But I'm sure he'll be able to help out the cats while our falcons and crows catch our targets from the air."

Lysandre continued thinking while the other human accomplices looked on. John continued gazing down at Nigel. He wondered how a cockatoo that could not fly could help in the task.

"Well if that cockatoo could fly," said John to Ernesto, "He'd be a big help to the falcons and the crows, but since he can't…"

Nigel glared at the person, bitterness glinting in his eyes. If he cannot join the poaching group, he might as well go after Blu and his family by himself, whether they were out of reach or not. But Lysandre had in mind to capture that family of Spix macaws along with the other Spix macaw family (Zephyr, Venus and their four chicks), the Lear's macaw family (Mercury, Sapphire and their three daughters), and the glaucous macaw family (Pluto, Lapis Lazuli and their four chicks) using the falcons and the crows as well as some of the macaws from the Sanctuary de Amazon. After a while of thinking, Lysandre broke the silence.

"Alright, we'll take them on," he said, "All of them, including that cockatoo."

This was met by a meowy cheer from each of the cats and a 'Yes!' gesture from Nigel as he straighten a wing into the air and kinked it, the end of his tattered wing clenched into a fist. A wickedly joyful expression also appeared on his face.

"I'm sure they'll be useful in dealing with work on the ground," said Lysandre, "Such as watching over our caught birds while the rest of our pets fly out to catch more targets."

"It would lift the burden off our crows and falcons too," said another human grunt, a young man, "During our previous plans, some of the crows had to stay behind to look after our caught birds while the rest of the crows and the falcons are out catching more of them, and it had not been easy."

The other humans nodded in agreement while Cazador congratulated Otis, Nigel and the other cats.

"Congratulations, all of you," he said, shaking each cat by the front paw with a wing, "You're officially part of our team."

"You will prove useful in helping us to retrieve caught birds on the ground and looking after our captured birds," said Xerosic, having changed his mind about the cats and cockatoo. Aliana, Swoop and Bryony and some of the crows nodded in agreement. Cometa, however, did not nod.

"We'll be glad to be your ground crew," said Otis, an evil smile creasing his face. Nigel nodded in agreement. However, under the gleeful smile, the resentment remained, bubbling under the look of evil glee. The wish and desire to fly again still remained in Nigel's inside, and the resentment against Blu for grounding him also remained beside the wish. 'I hope the falcons find that disgusting blue macaw and his family so that I can get my revenge on them,' he thought, 'Make them feel the loss I had felt over losing the ability to fly…'

As these thoughts buzzed in his mind, an idea entered Nigel's head, an idea that made his beak expand into one of the wickedest smiles he had ever had. He had decided that Blu's family would be torn apart so that all five of the family members would suffer immense psychological damage. Furthermore, based on Otis and his group's information about the female pigtailed Spix macaw with the yellow eyes still being alive, Nigel's sickening grin widened further. 'If that female Spix macaw has a mate and a family, I will be tearin' it apart as well,' thought the diabolical cockatoo. 'I would perhaps kill that macaw's mate and rip away her chicks so that she can be devastated and emotionally traumatised like last time when she was a chick and I killed her family.'

After thinking those evil, murderous plans, the cockatoo let loose his signature laughter. This attracted some rather irritated attention.

"What's so funny?" asked Cazador. Nigel, at this, stopped laughing and turned to see several pairs of cats' eyes, four pairs of falcons' eyes and a few pairs of crows' eyes glare at him in wondered frowns. At this, Nigel immediately concealed his evil plans and put on an innocent front. "Nothing," he said, hoping that this would put off the curious group. To Nigel's gladness, it worked.

"Well, let's prepare for dinner and then bed," said Cazador firmly, "We've got a busy day tomorrow."

"I've already had my dinner," said Swoop.

"Huh, you can gloat about your early supper, Swoop, my stomach feels like an empty shell," muttered Bryony, her wing on her growling stomach as it shouted, 'Feed me! Feed me!' in the form of a grumble. Soon the stomachs of Cazador, Cometa, Aliana, Xerosic, the crows, Nigel and the cats began to grumble. Lysandre, seeing that the animals were getting hungry, ushered the group along to the kitchen.

"Come on, you lot," he said, "Our cooks are preparing your food."

With sighs of relief, the group excitedly trotted along. Swoop stayed behind, having had his dinner already. Then Lysandre said, "John, do you have any cat food or fruit?"

"Er, we do have some fruit but no cat food but we do have some fish," said John, looking at the cats and Nigel. Lysandre looked down at the cats as they trotted after the crows and the falcons apart from Swoop toward the kitchen. "Okay, then," he said, "Tell the pet carers to prepare some food bowls full of fish meat for the cats and fruit for the cockatoo."

When this reached Nigel's ears, the cockatoo whipped round and glared at Lysander with a disdainful look.

"Ugh… _fruit_!?" he snapped, his pale yellow crest raised, "I don't want fruit! I want meat!"

"I'm afraid you're gonna have to manage with the fruit, Nigel," said Cazador firmly.

"And besides, cockatoos don't eat meat, apart from insects which we don't have," said Xerosic. Nigel let loose a defeated sigh and followed the others toward the kitchen, John and the other human accomplices walking after them. As they left for the kitchen, Lysandre turned to Swoop.

"Swoop," he said. Swoop jumped up onto his master's outstretched arm which was protected by a thick shirt, thick enough to prevent the falcon's talons from piercing the skin.

"I want you to fly out into the Blu Bird Sanctuary and search for the Lear's macaw family, the glaucous macaw family and the two Spix macaw families," said Lysandre, "Memorise where they live and come back here. Then we'll send you back out with the other five falcons and some of the crows to catch and bring back to us to cage, which we will do tomorrow morning. Do you understand your task?"

Swoop nodded to confirm it.

"Alright then," said Lysandre, "Off you go!"

And with that, he flicked his arm and made Swoop take off. Swoop opened his wings and flapped off of Lysandre's arm before making a beeline for one of the broken windows with a hole large enough for a flacon to fit through. He then flew through the hole and out into the darkening city to begin his search for the four ultra-rare macaws' families and where they lived.

 **Meanwhile**

Back at Susan and Lucy's house, Susan and Lucy had just finished their dinner. Lucy had returned from the vet's with Ginger and she and her family and cat friends had also just finished their dinner too, and were relaxing. From the birdhouse on the nearby tree, Sunset and Travis had just put their chicks Eustace, Milo and Rosa to bed. Sunset was occupied with singing a lullaby to the chicks while Travis watched Susan and Lucy from a platform of his family's birdhouse. He got a glimpse of the ginger form of Dash's mate, an ecstatic smile on her face. Travis and Sunset had been listening to Ginger's news when she excitedly told Dash, the five grown up puppies, Veggie, Catina and their four grown up offspring that she was pregnant with her and Dash's second litter of pups. Travis was happy for the ginger coloured greyhound and looked forward to seeing a new litter of puppies in the house. However, he wasn't so sure about Veggie and Catina having another litter of kittens. Veggie had once told Travis about his desire to have more kittens once Broccoli, Thomas, Collette and Daisy had been sold to other owners but had concerns about how his and Catina's kittens might grow up. Cats were after all the natural enemies of birds, and Veggie did not want to endanger his feathered friends. He and Catina had been lucky that their first brood kittens did not bother the birds but their next litter might be a different story. While Travis watched the activities of Susan, Lucy and the cat and greyhound families through the window, Sunset finished the lullaby and the chicks fell asleep. Eustace blinked one last time until his eyelids slid shut as sleep took hold of him. Milo and Rosa had already entered slumber land. As soon as Eustace had fallen asleep, Sunset quietly walked over to Travis and sat beside him.

"Ginger certainly is thrilled to find out that she is pregnant again, isn't she?" she said.

"Yep," said Travis, "The vet estimated the number of puppies in the litter to be around four or five, but the actual number will be revealed once the puppies are born."

"Ginger's been having some mood swings lately," said Sunset, "Veggie told me that she was moody before Lucy left with her to the vet's."

"It's hormones, Sunset," replied Travis, "When a female dog or cat is pregnant, they experience hormonal changes just like human mothers do."

Sunset sighed and remembered having her and Travis's there eggs which eventually hatched into their three hybrid kids Eustace, Milo and Rosa after a few weeks. Before Eustace's egg had appeared in the nest first, Sunset had been very moody. Much like mammals, female birds experienced hormonal changes but in a totally different way for they do not give birth to live young unlike mammals (except the platypus and the echidna) and instead lay eggs. When Eustace, Milo and Rosa's eggs developed, Sunset had had a huge craving for calcium-rich foods and fruit, and would sometimes chow down her meals like a gannet. Then Travis's next question dragged Sunset back to the present.

"Have you ever thought about having another brood of chicks once our first three reach maturity and move out?" asked Travis. Sunset shot him a puzzled gaze.

"I don't know," she said. She then stole a glance from the compartment in which Eustace, Rosa and Milo slept. "I suppose we could have another brood," then a thought about Rafael and Eva crossed the Major Mitchell cockatoo's mind, and she frowned. "But I don't want us to breed like rabbits like how Rafael and Eva do."

"Obviously not," replied Travis in agreement. He then looked ahead. "To be honest with you, I don't get how that toco and keel-billed toucan couple manage to deal with so many kids. Did you hear how many more kids Blu told us had had?"

"Yes, sixteen with three more eggs in their nest," said Sunset, still dumbfounded at how many offspring Rafael and Eva had been having. "I honestly can't understand why they would go on to have so many."

"I can't imagine us having that many chicks," said Travis. He flinched at the idea of being surrounded by more than two-dozen sulfur-crested/Major Mitchell's cockatoo hybrid chicks. "Three or four at a time is enough for us."

"Definitely," said Sunset. "When Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Pluto and their families go and visit those two toucans, they're going to see what Blu and Jewel mean about the swarm of chicks they had been having."

"True," said Travis. Then the two cockatoos continued to gaze into the house at Susan and Lucy as they washed up the pots and tidied everything up in the kitchen. At this moment, in the attic, the macaw couples were also putting their chicks to bed. Ruby had just tucked in Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto into their makeshift nest.

"I'm going to give you a special treat tonight, you four," said Ruby with a loving smile as her three daughters and son settled down to sleep. Jupiter stood at a distance, looking on with a proud smile on his beak.

"What is that, Mom?" asked Io tiredly. Europa, Ganymede and Callisto also looked up with droopy eyes. Ruby smiled and sat by the basket.

"It's a lovely song my mother had made up for me when I was your age," she said in a low voice, "It is one of my favourites. At that time, I sometimes had nightmares, or sometimes struggled to get off to sleep, so my mother had put together this bedtime lullaby to help me relax. When you have your own chicks, you'll be able to cite it to them before bedtime as well. It's called, 'In the Comfort of Your Mommy's Wings'."

Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto all settled down and began to ready themselves for the lullaby. Jupiter then prepared to listen to Ruby's favourite lullaby as she began to gently sing it. while Ruby sang this song in a low and soothing voice, nearby, Chiquitita was talking with Mars. Mars was still in utter shock at hearing how many more chicks Rafael and Eva had had. Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre were snuggling themselves into bed.

"Could someone get Mom or Dad to kiss us goodnight?" asked Phobos. Deimos watched Chiquitita and Mars talk.

"Shall I do that?" he asked.

"Yes, please do," said Alexandre. Then Deimos hopped out of the makeshift basket-nest and patted over to her parents. He paused for a minute to listen in on the conversation.

"I hope those sixteen new additions to that toco toucan's exploding family aren't as bad as their older siblings," muttered Mars, "You remember what happened last time?"

"I do," said Chiquitita.

"Mom, Dad," called Deimos, "Can you kiss us goodnight?"

At this, Chiquitita and Mars turned and saw Deimos who stood there for a second and then retreated to the nest with his brothers. Chiquitita and Mars looked at each other and then walked over to the nest. As the two stood around the basket, Alexandre asked, "You mentioned something about Uncle Rafael and Aunt Eva having more kids?"

"Oh, it's a bit late to explain that, dear," said Chiquitita, a wing gently stroking Alexandre's forehead. "But to put that short, Rafael and Eva have added sixteen chicks to their first eighteen grown-up sons and daughters."

Mars just said nothing. He would rather forget about the toucan family until tomorrow morning when he takes his family to visit them. While Mars and Chiquitita began to say goodnight to their three sons, Mercury and Sapphire both put their daughters to bed.

"What will we be doing tomorrow, Mom?" asked Phoebe tiredly.

"Well, we're going to visit your Uncle Rafael and Aunt Eva tomorrow," said Sapphire, "And then we'll perhaps give you another tour of your birthplace if you want…"

"But in the meantime, you need to go to sleep," said Mercury. Phoebe smiled and her eyelids slid shut as sleep came along and enveloped her. Jasmine and Annette had already dozed off. Then after kissing Phoebe on the forehead, the two adult Lear's macaws left for the entrance to the attic, the hole in the side of the house. Venus had also finished putting Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil to bed. She too had sung them a lullaby, one that her mother Clarinda had sung to her when she was a chick with her sisters Izzy and Flo, a few weeks before the traumatising event involving the group of smugglers who took Venus and Mercury to the United Kingdom. After this, and with a satisfied smile after Virgil's eyes slid shut, Venus crooned, "Happy dreams, my lovely chicks."

Then she walked towards Zephyr who had been lovingly watching his offspring drift off.

"Your mother must have had plenty of lullabies to sing to you and your sisters almost each night when you were young, my star flower," crooned Zephyr lovingly as he observed his three sons and three daughters start blowing Zs. Venus smiled as she paralleled her gaze with Zephyr's at the chicks.

"That one was called, 'On the Soft Clouds of Happy Dreams'," replied Venus with a loving lean against Zephyr's shoulder, "Mom did have quite a few lullabies…"

A pang of sorrow then pricked Venus like a small rose thorn as she thought about her deceased mother, father and two sisters, and also the parents and siblings of Mercury who went through the exact same incident. Before she and Zephyr and some of their friends had gone out to piece together Venus and Mercury's backstory, including what exactly happened in the Rio rainforest, who was involved, and how they were taken to the UK as chicks with the help of some of the residents who had witnessed what had happened, such as Ellery and Albert, Alvin and his mate Marina's daughter and son respectively, and of course Marina and Alvin themselves, and of course Venus and Mercury's sliver of the memories of that traumatising event in the form of brief flashes, Venus and Mercury virtually had no idea of what had exactly happened. Now that they know and after much examination of what took place and talk with Alvin and Marina, who were now very well on in their years but who had actually been there and had witnessed Erico, Clarina, Lola and Thomas's fate and had lived to tell the tale, Venus and Mercury had managed to piece together more memories of their time with their beloved families when they were chicks, but it had been a walk over seriously thorny ground for them, complete with tears. Furthermore, to hear that Nigel had been involved in the killing of the two macaws' parents, Mercury and Venus had felt an electric jolt of shock. While Venus went over the memories that had been in pieces like a human puzzle called a jigsaw, tears began to well in her eyes.

"It would have been… great if… you met… your in-laws… and… and… and…" Venus's voice began to break off as sobs overtook her words. She began to sniffle and allow sobs to scape her throat. Zephyr sympathetically wrapped a wing around her shoulders as she began to cry into his chest.

"I know, it's a shame that your parents are not alive like mine are," he said in a low, sympathetic voice. He then lifted his other wing and placed it onto Venus's cheek as she continued crying. Hearing his mate sob like this over the loss of her family tugged at his heartstrings, and despite almost twenty years later, the remnants of the immense heartbreak still remained in Venus's heart.

"But you have to learn to let it go," said Zephyr, "It's in the past, and we cannot change the past. It's like how I cannot go back and change the fire incident that tore me, my sister, Mom, Dad and Jewel from our tribe when Brisa and I were chicks…"

Venus managed to gain control over her tears and began to relish the comfort of her mate's loving embrace. Slowly, her sorrow melted away. While Zephyr comforted Venus, Saturn and Orquidea had also finished putting their seven chicks Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus to bed, as had Uranus and Esmeralda with Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon. The four macaws stood back and proudly watched their offspring enter slumber land.

"That's how Mom and Dad would have examined us when I was a chick with my two brothers," said Esmeralda with a smile, "They would stand back and watch us sleep comfortably in our nest back home."

Then a frown displaced her smile. Uranus looked down and saw his mate look grumpy.

"Why the frown, Es?" he asked. Saturn and Orquidea also saw Esmeralda's frown.

"I've just had a thought about Rafael and Eva," said Esmeralda in reply to Uranus's question, "How do Rafael and Eva manage to put more than a dozen chicks to bed at once, and yet look after a clutch of three eggs at the same time? It must be hideously burdensome."

"Burdensome?" repeated Saturn with an irritated but low voice so as to not wake the chicks, "More like a huge ton of bricks to deal with. Putting their kids to bed is not the only thing they have to deal with…"

Uranus and Esmeralda shot the blue-and-gold male with an understanding look, knowing what he was talking about. Orquidea just sighed.

"Caring for so many kids means foraging for an awful lot of food as well," she muttered, "I wonder where and how Rafael and Eva get that much fruit to feed such a large family…"

"No idea," said Esmeralda with a shake of her head, "For all we know, having that many kids to care for is a serious thing."

"And unwise," said Uranus. The other three murmured and nodded in agreement when Miranda stirred in her and her four siblings' nest. However, she went back to sleep. Nearby, Neptune, Ultramarine, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Cobalto and Ceres had also just put their offspring to sleep. Neptune and Ultramarine proudly looked over their two offspring, Triton and Indigo as they dozed off while Lapis Lazuli smiled at Charon, Quincy, Flor and Blueberry, and Ceres did the same with Wilbur, Aurelio and Azul.

"Looks like those lot have slipped into slumber-land really easily," said Ceres with a smile as she stood back and watched her three blue-throated boys start snoring quietly, before gazing at Pluto and Lapis Lazuli's four and Ultramarine and Neptune's two. Cobalto came up and draped a wing down Ceres's back. "Yep, it's been a very long day and journey," he said, Ceres leaning against his shoulder and him against her crown.

"Definitely," said Neptune as he and Ultramarine stood side by side. Then Pluto said, "Right, are we going for our adults-only time together outside? I can see the others are leaving here to examine the stars."

The other five turned and saw Mercury, Mars and Venus with their respective mates Sapphire, Chiquitita and Zephyr leave for the hole and disappear one by one through it.

"Then let's join them," said Lapis Lazuli and with that, the hyacinth, glaucous and blue-throated couples left for the hole as well. Outside, all nine couples as well as the cockatoo couple were on the roof, all gazing at the star-washed night sky together. Travis began to tell his macaw friends the news of Ginger.

"Have you lot heard that Ginger is pregnant with another litter of pups?" he said. Sunset smiled and gazed at her macaw friends in agreement.

"Really?" said Mercury.

"We weren't there or were too occupied with making our nests," said Sapphire.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that Ginger is expecting another litter of pups," said Venus.

"Looks like her and Dash's older five will be having more siblings," said Zephyr with an enlightening smile.

"Which would mean Danny would no longer be the youngest puppy of Dash and Ginger," said Chiquitita.

"Did you two or Dash, Catina and Veggie deduce that she could be pregnant based on her behaviour?" asked Mars, "I know female dogs exhibit tell-tale behavioural and physical changes when they are expecting a litter, like moodiness, increased appetite and an increased desire to sleep more."

"According to Dash, Veggie and Catina, yes," said Travis. As he said this, in the birdhouse, a small form's head peered out from Sunset and Travis's compartment for the chicks. Based on the chick's eyes that reflected the artificial light coming from Susan and Lucy's house through the window being a shade of pink like a pink marshmallow, the chick had to be Rosa. She had woken up and had crept out of her and her two brothers' compartment to watch the adults out of curiosity.

"Are Veggie and Catina planning on having another litter of kittens?" asked Jupiter, "I know their first brood offspring and that of Dash and Ginger will soon be sold to new owners."

"They're not so sure," replied Sunset, "You see, cats are natural born hunters despite Veggie, Broccoli and Daisy's vegetarian nature, and sadly, we birds are on their menu. And it's that reason that's holding Veggie and Catina back from going ahead with having another litter of kittens, especially since they often have us visiting them quite a lot."

"I suppose they'll go ahead with it once they know that we're not going to be visiting them for a while," said Ruby.

"Yeah, but we're still nearby," said Travis, "As we will be when you macaws return to the Amazon with your tribes and clans."

Saturn and Orquidea then gazed at each other lovingly. "Well, some of us are going to be having a second brood of chicks once our first brood of chicks leave the nest," he said, gazing into Orquidea's pink eyes, "Hopefully, when my lovely flower Orquidea here and I implement that, we'll not have so many eggs in one brood this time."

"Absolutely not, seven chicks is a lot to handle," said Orquidea, "It took me three whole days to lay their eggs."

"But it was a fun process raising them nonetheless," said Saturn proudly, "If not a bit too burdensome on our own."

"Same here with our four chicks," said Venus, "But Brisa was with us back then when our chicks Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and then Virgil were born, and we were in Tulio's Aviary so we had more help while Sapphire and Mercury had Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette and Lapis Lazuli and Pluto had Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor to deal with."

"Susan and Lucy should still have pictures of your chicks when they were hatchlings somewhere," said Travis, "When Susan and Lucy go to work tomorrow; we'll get them out so that we can have a look at our chicks when they were very young."

"That's a great idea," said Uranus, "I look forward to seeing them."

"But when we come to have our second broods," said Esmeralda, "I would like those chicks to be born in our home place."

"But we will certainly not be breeding like rabbits, like how Rafael and Eva do," muttered Neptune. An image of Rafael and Eva surrounded by a huge sea of dozens and dozens and dozens of toco/keel-billed toucan hybrid chicks appeared in his mind, making Neptune release a slight snorty laugh through his beak.

"Absolutely not," muttered Ultramarine, "Hyacinth macaws cannot breed that fast, anyway."

"I reckon Adam and Eve must have aimed to produce as many children as possible to fulfil God's command to fill the Earth," said Ceres. "They must have had absolutely dozens and dozens."

"Possibly," said Pluto with a smile.

"Can domestic dogs have very large broods?" asked Cobalto, "Like, ten or twelve?"

"It is possible," said Sunset, "I remember us coming across a Border collie mother who had given birth to a litter of fourteen puppies once when we lived in London."

"Fourteen puppies," repeated Lapis Lazuli in utter shock, "That is a large number to have in one clutch."

"That is just as many as the number of puppies Perdita the Dalmatian had given birth in the movie and book _101 Dalmatians,_ " said Mercury.

"Did they all survive?" asked Sapphire.

"A few of them sadly died," said Sunset, "It's not surprising really. A mother dog's womb can only support so many puppies. Competition increases between the unborn siblings with increasing number."

"I wonder how many pups Ginger will bear once the time comes for her and Dash's second litter to be born," said Mars with a smile, looking down at the roof.

"The vet had estimated the number to be around four or five," replied Travis, "based on the ultrasound scan examination."

"What's an ultra-thingie?" asked Ruby.

"It's a device humans use to see expectant mothers," explained Jupiter, "Normally human mothers go for a scan but it can also be done on dogs, cats, even dolphins and certain species of sharks."

"The device has a piece called a probe that emits high-frequency soundwaves too high for the human ear to detect," said Mars, "And when the soundwaves are sent into the mother's body and unborn baby, the waves are reflected back to the probe and from the reflected soundwaves, an image is built onto a screen."

"Sounds complicated," said Lapis Lazuli.

"It is," said Travis, "But Blu should be the one to give the fullest possible scientific explanation on how an ultrasound works," he put a wing behind his back to scratch and itch, "After all; he is the nerd bird who knows a lot about human technology."

"I thought you eleven would be as smart as Blu," said Ruby in surprise.

"Not always," said Jupiter with a smile, "I may know how to operate on a computer or an Ipad but I'm not as clever as Blu despite being able to work out basic physics equations."

The other former domesticated macaws nodded in agreement. Then Sunset said, "Well, let's just watch the stars for a bit longer and then go to bed. I'm getting tired."

She let loose a yawn. Travis did the same.

"Yeah, so am I," he said tiredly.

"It's been a long journey and day," said Mercury drowsily.

"We've got some big jobs tomorrow such as foraging for some food for our chicks," said Zephyr. The others murmured in agreement as some more macaws let loose yawns. Then the group of twenty birds continued watching the stars. However, the group was unaware that they were being watched. From the cover of darkness amongst the trees, a shady figure with piercing eyes had been watching all the adult birds discuss about various things with its large, piercing eyes that glinted in the starlight and the light from Susan and Lucy's house. Its beak was creased into an evil smile as the eyes above it then scanned the birds, but especially Mercury and Sapphire, Venus and Zephyr and Pluto and Lapis Lazuli.

"Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm!" tittered the owner of the eyes and beak evilly, the rest of its body cloaked in shadow, "So this is where the Lear's, the glaucous and one of the Spix macaw families live, hmm, and based on the presence of the couples, the chicks are bound to be there too? Now that I have found out where those families live, now to find the other Spix macaw family and report it to Lysandre and the others."

With another evil titter, the creature filled the air with some flapping noises as it took off, abandoning its perch before disappearing to the night.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10- Venus has a bad dream**

Meanwhile, at Tulio and Linda's house, Tulio, Linda and Fernando had also finished their dinner and were just relaxing for the evening. Outside their cottage on their birdhouse, Blu and Jewel stood side by side, Jewel leaning against Blu's shoulder with Blu lovingly learning onto Jewel's crown with a wing draped over her back. They had put Carla, Bia and Tiago to bed as well and had decided to spend some lone time together. The couple was watching Linda and Tulio through the window of their cottage. Tulio was working through some papers while Linda tidied up the table and had washed and put away the plates, knives and forks. Blu had noticed something a little different about his former owner but still human companion. Linda's belly seemed to be bigger than the last time he had seen her. However, Blu had noticed something else. There were several things dotting the kitchen and living room: baby toys, a baby chair seated at the table, and a few other things associated with human babies. From these objects and from Linda's bump, Blu could only deduce one thing. As he thought about this, Jewel's voice pierced his daydream.

"What a beautiful night, Blu," crooned his cerulean teal-eyed mate lovingly. Blu shook his head to snap back to reality and looked down at Jewel as she lovingly snuggled up to him.

"Yeah, it sure is, Jewel," replied Blu as he also scanned the star-studded sky. He then returned his attention to Linda.

"Have you noticed something different about Linda in there?" he asked Jewel. Jewel looked at him confused.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, um…" Blu was going to say 'Linda's got a bigger tummy' but felt that it was too disrespectful to say that about his owner so he decided to put it another way. "I've noticed that the house has several toys designed for human babies, and that little chair at the table designed to seat a human baby," he said to insinuate to Jewel about Linda's possible condition. Jewel shot him a gaze.

"You mean Linda could be…?" she asked. Blu nodded. Jewel then smiled as memories of seeing Venus and Zephyr's chicks for the first time bubbled within her mind.

"Do you remember seeing Jupiter and his group's chicks for the first time?" crooned Jewel lovingly, her head resting on her mate's shoulder once again.

"Yes I do," said Blu, "I think the first couple to have eggs in the nest were Ceres and Cobalto, but to see Zephyr and Venus with their four eggs was amazing. It was the first time I had ever seen the eggs belonging to another Spix macaw couple in my life. Not to mention seeing a clutch of glaucous macaw eggs when Pluto and Lapis Lazuli finally went ahead with breeding."

"I remember seeing the excited look on Tulio's face," said Jewel, "It was the same look he had in his face when we had our three eggs that hatched into Carla, Bia and Tiago."

"I'm not surprised," said Blu, "It is sheer joy for the ornithologists when they see the last pair of a near-extinct species of bird breed and have eggs, giving their species hope in the new generation…"

Jewel sighed in slight irritation. She clearly did not like having chicks just to save the Spix macaw species from going extinct. Zephyr, Sapphire and Lapis Lazuli also had the exact same view, which they had made clear to Venus, Mercury and Pluto when the six first met. But after spending a lot of time getting to know each other, then falling in love and becoming mates, and also taking up the role of babysitting the chicks of other parent birds on the Blu Bird Sanctuary such as Venus with Carla, Bia and Tiago when they were younger, having chicks had been a better experience as the macaws had become better prepared for it. Blu knew that Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Pluto had particularly strong bonds with their respective mates Sapphire, Zephyr, Chiquitita, Ruby, Orquidea, Esmeralda, Ultramarine, Cobalto and Lapis Lazuli, especially Zephyr and Venus. Those two were sometimes observed with enormous waves of love hearts splashing over them like the waves of a rough sea splashing against a rocky shoreline. It was possible that these two Spix macaws' bond was as strong as Blu and Jewel's, with that of Jupiter and Ruby, Mars and Chiquitita and the other six couples, and Travis and Sunset not far behind. Blu and Jewel then resumed observing Linda, Tulio and Fernando as they prepared for bed, and another working day tomorrow morning. However, the Spix macaw couple were unaware that a shady figure was watching them from the shadows in the trees. Not too far away, a pair of large eyes glowed sinisterly as they glared at Blu and Jewel.

"That's gotta be the other breeding Spix macaw pair," said the eyes' owner, "I've gotta remember that this is where they live," the beak under the two glowing eyes then creased into a wickedly gleeful smile, "Well, looks like my task is complete, so it's time to return to my owners' base and bring back the report on the Blu Bird Sanctuary's Spix, Lear's and glaucous macaws' locations."

Then with an evil titter escaping its throat, the spy disappeared, flapping noises filling the air.

 **Meanwhile**

A while later, it was late at night, and the activities in Rio had largely reduced except for those of the humans on nightshift jobs, such as the patrollers and guards at Tulio's Aviary, who made sure that no troublesome burglar dare intrude into the building. In the slums of Rio, people living there had either gone to bed or stayed up late to watch a late night movie or soccer or other programme. In the large ramshackle building, Lysandre stood by one of the broken windows, waiting for Swoop to return. His underlings and other pets were still eating their dinner. Some of the human grunts sat on the floor, eating their dinner from plates set on their laps while the others sat at a table. The crows, Cometa, Xerosic, Cazador, Bryony and Aliana, Nigel and the cats were eating from the food bowls set down by their owners. The falcons were eating rodents and other types of meat, the crows ate a variety of fruit and nuts and some meat while the cats ate fish. Nigel's meal was also fruit and a few nuts. However, unlike the crows who clearly enjoyed the fruit and nuts, Nigel glared at the bowl filled with the brightly coloured food and brown seed-like pods with distain. He glared at the fruit and nuts in his own bowl and then rolled his eyes in the direction of the food bowls of the falcons and the cats.

"Oh, I really wish I could eat some of their food," murmured Nigel under his breath, distain-saturated eyes gazing down on the food in front of him. "This fruit is disgusting."

As the other five falcons continued eating their mice, Cometa looked up at Cazador. "When is Swoop due to return?" she asked, "He's been gone a while now."

"Just eat your dinner, Cometa," snapped Cazador as he swallowed another mouse. Cometa, at this, made a soulful look and looked down at the dead mouse in her talon.

"You know something," she murmured uncertainly, "I've been thinking about the plan ahead once Ernesto gives us the signal once Tulio names the date that his team will be going into the Sanctuary de Amazon."

Cazador stopped eating and shot the doubtful falcon a glare. "What about it, Cometa?"

Cometa looked at her leader with doubtful eyes. "I still don't think this is a good idea," she said, "You see, that area where the Spix macaw flock and the other flocks live is protected and…"

Suddenly, a slam of a falcon foot cut Cometa off. Cazador had stomped a foot down onto the table. "Look, what has Lysandre said about sneaking by security?" he growled. Cometa flinched, seeing the irritation and anger burn in Cazador's eyes piercing her like lasers.

"That our owners will be disguising as ecologists and sneaking into the Sanctuary de Amazon, divert Tulio and his team's attention and then set to work in capturing birds especially the Spix, glaucous and Lear's macaws, with us smuggled into the nature reserve," she immediately and timidly answered. Cazador's anger cooled.

"That is right," he said, "We've been over this DOZENS of TIMES! You should know it by now. Now get back to eating your dinner!"

Cometa nodded and did so. Cazador did the same. Bryony shot Cometa an irritated glare.

"You know something, Cazador," she whispered into her leader's ear, "I think that falcon has some cowardice issues."

"Huh, tell me about it," replied Cazador as he ate another mouse. Bryony then shot Cometa a bitter glare before returning to her meal making Cometa's eyes flash with hurt. As the five falcons continued to eat, Nigel continued gazing disdainfully at his food bowl filled with fruit and nuts, before swivelling his eyes onto the fish of the cats' food bowls, and the mice in the falcons' food bowls. Then an idea, an extremely unpleasant one, entered his head.

"I would love to sample a mouse," crooned the disgusting cockatoo hungrily. Otis shot him a glare.

"Just eat your meal, Nigel," he snapped.

"But I don't like fruit and nuts," snapped Nigel, "It's fit for vermin. Pretty bird vermin, that is. I want meat, like chicken or sommat."

"Tough," snapped Otis curtly as he swallowed some of his fish, "You're gonna eat that meal whether you like it or not. Now eat it."

"But…" began Nigel but Moggy brusquely cut him off.

"Don't disappoint our new owners, Nigel," she said, "Now get your beak into that and start eating. You haven't even touched it since it was sat down before you."

Nigel let loose a frustrated huff in reply. He clearly wanted to have meat in his beak and clearly despised the brightly coloured food and hard seed pods set down before him. After gazing one final time at the fruit and nuts sitting there in his bowl, Nigel swivelled his eyes toward Aliana's food bowl. A wicked smile crept into his beak.

"I think I'm gonna try something… a little new," he crooned and with that, he walked away from his bowl, slowly at first but then leapt at Aliana's bowl before any of the cats could leap in and stop him.

"Nigel…!" shouted Otis but then what happened next shocked… and disgusted… everyone. Cries of total revulsion erupted from the falcons and crows' beaks, and the cats' mouths as the group watched in total repugnance as Nigel buried his face into Aliana's bowl, much to the latter's irritation.

"Hey!" shouted Aliana angrily as the disgusting cockatoo pigged on her food, "That's MY bowl!"

Cazador, Cometa, Bryony and Xerosic looked on with faces creased into repulsed expressions as Nigel then took his head out of the bowl, swallowing down a mouse like a gannet. Some of the crows and the cats including Otis also looked on with repulsed faces. After Nigel had shoved the mouse down his throat, his eyes lit up in disgusting enlightenment.

"Dee-licious," shouted the gross cockatoo and with that, he shoved his face back into Aliana's food bowl to chow down more mice. The group looked on with faces creased into revulsion in different ways. Bryony had her tongue hanging out, Xerosic's lower jaw was hanging open, and Cometa, Aliana and Cazador, especially Aliana just looked on in shock. Otis, Moggy and some of the other cats also wore disgusted faces, as did the crows.

"That cockatoo is GROSS!" shouted one.

"He's the most disgusting cockatoo I had ever seen," muttered another. The other crows also groaned in agreement. Then Cometa's stomach began to feel like it had insects crawling in it. With a wing slowly moving over her belly, Cometa murmured, "I think I'm gonna be…"

And with that, she took off in a blink of an eye and rocketed off somewhere to disgorge her meal. The sight of Nigel shovelling the mice down his throat had made her stomach turn so much that nausea had washed over Cometa. Moggy then felt the same feeling consume her. A paw flew to her mouth and her cheeks puffed out as though she was blowing into them. Then the cat rushed off, followed by two or three of the other cats. Then when Nigel had finished gorging himself on Aliana's mice, he leapt over to Moggy's abandoned dish and began to gorge himself like an absolute gannet, much to the utter shock of the remaining cats. Cazador looked on again in shock before shooting the cats a confrontational glare.

"Has that cockatoo always been like that?" he shouted. At first none of the cats replied but then Otis took up the role.

"Possibly since he joined us in smuggling birds," he murmured, a still disgusted-tinted expression marking his face, "He must have picked up the desire to gorge himself on meat from us."

Cazador did not reply. He couldn't understand Nigel's eating habits and had never seen a cockatoo eat a piece of meat before, much less _mice_. However, Cazador did not know that parrots can sometimes, and are able to, consume meat, but he did not like how Nigel was eating Moggy's dinner. Then Cazador decided to intervene.

"Get your beak out of there and eat your own food," he shouted, his wings clasped onto Nigel's hips and pulling. However, Nigel resisted and continued stuffing his face on Moggy's dinner. He lifted his head out of the bowl and looked at Cazador, his face smeared in fish and meat but with a lot more fish and meat shoved greedily into his beak. His cheeks were grotesquely bulging out from so much food stuffed in his mouth at one time, like a chipmunk that had shoved a lot of nuts into its mouth. Furthermore, Nigel's beak was partially closed, so what he was eating showed through much to Cazador's revulsion.

"What's wrong, falcon?" asked the cockatoo through a completely full beak. Cazador didn't reply and began to command the cockatoo to return to his food bowl. But the command just went into one ear and out of the other as Nigel then reburied his face into another cat's bowl, this time, Otis's.

"OOIII!" screeched Otis as Nigel then began to shovel huge amounts of his food into his mouth. Just then a few footstep sounds reached the ears of the group. Cazador and Otis looked around and saw three of the humans walk in and backed away.

"What is going on?" asked John angrily but when he saw what Nigel was eating, his jaw dropped open. Gale, another assistant then ran in and whisked the cockatoo away from Otis's food bowl as Lysandre walked in, Swoop on his shoulder. At this moment, Cometa and Moggy had returned after their nausea had subsided, but the look of the same feeling still marked their faces. When Lysandre with Swoop on his shoulder appeared, he looked on with a frown on his face, especially when his eyes saw the untouched bowl of fruit and nuts intended for Nigel and a group of shocked crows, cats and falcons gazing at Gale as she restrained Nigel. Then a fishy whiff entered Gal's nostrils and she flinched in slight revulsion.

"Ugh, what HAS this cockatoo been eating?" she asked. Nigel didn't care and maintained an evil smirk on his face.

"That meat, fish and those mice were absolutely delicious!" he crooned wickedly.

"Delicious nothing," snapped Cazador as Gale then irritably walked over to Nigel's fruit bowl and slammed the cockatoo down in front of it.

"Now you will EAT from your OWN FOOD BOWL, you naughty cockatoo, or you'll not be participating in our upcoming plan!" snarled Gale to Nigel's childish chagrin. "UNDERSTAND!?"

Nigel reluctantly nodded and set to eating his fruit and nuts. Cazador came by and shot the grumbly cockatoo a glare before moving on to meeting Swoop. Cometa and Moggy then moaned, a nauseated look still colouring their face.

"As for us, we're no longer hungry," moaned Cometa.

"I can't believe that Nigel would be so disgusting," muttered Moggy as she left. Nigel just creased his beak into an evil smile, obviously liking this statement. He loved being disgusting, but under the watchful glare of John, he half-heartedly set to eating his fruit and nuts. Then as soon as everything had calmed down and the animals returning to eating their meals, Swoop began to give the report.

"So, did you find the four ultra-valuable macaw families, Swoop?" asked Cazador.

"Indeed I did," said Swoop with a gleeful smile on his face. As he said this, Nigel tuned his ears to listen to what Swoop had to say while he continued to disdainfully eat his fruit and nuts.

"One of the Spix macaw families," said Swoop, "And the Lear's macaw and glaucous macaw families are staying in the attic of one house while the other Spix macaw family is staying in a birdhouse at another house. I didn't get a glimpse of the chicks but I did see the couples, from which I deduced the chicks must be somewhere nearby…"

"Brilliant, Swoop," said Cazador with a proud smile.

"Did you get a glimpse of a calico cat in the house where you saw the Spix, the glaucous and the Lear's macaw families are staying?" asked Otis. He flinched when he was met by two glares from the falcons.

"What's so important in finding a calico cat, cat?" asked Cazador irritably. Nigel continued to listen.

"What's more important is the macaws," added Swoop, "Not some individual cat you are looking for. Now shut your mouth and eat your dinner!"

Otis rolled his eyes and obeyed. Then Lysandre knelt down and asked Swoop, "Did you find the four valuable macaw families?"

Swoop replied with a confirmatory squeak. Lysandre smiled. "Brilliant. We will send you guys and the cats out to locate those macaws to catch, cage and bring here. Then we'll prepare for our trip into the Sanctuary de Amazon once Ernesto hears Tulio giving the date of departure."

Nigel, at this looked up. "Could one of the Spix macaw families be my most detested blue macaw and his mate and chicks?" he asked himself.

"EAT YOUR DINNER, COCKATOO!" snarled someone, jolting Nigel into finishing his meal. As the animals continued feeding, Lysandre stood up and rubbed his hands with glee.

"I look forward to seein' those precious macaw families believed to be the last Spix and glaucous macaws and the first Lear's macaws to live on the Blu Bird Sanctuary," he crooned wickedly, "Those birds shall certainly cost a fortune."

Nigel continued eating. However, inside, he was hoping that one of the Spix macaw families was definitely Blu and his family for the desire to get revenge on him still burned as intensely as a forest fire. 'When I meet those rotten blue macaws again' he thought, 'I am gonna torture and abuse them and then execute my plan once this is over.'

Nigel then looked up and saw John, his face twisted in an expecting expression and his arms crossed gaze down at him, before resuming his meal.

 **Meanwhile**

Back in Susan and Lucy's house, Susan and Lucy had gone to bed, as had Dash, Ginger, Catina, Veggie and their offspring, and also the adult macaws, Travis and Sunset. Travis and Sunset had returned to their birdhouse while the others had returned to the attic, where they climbed into their makeshift nests to snuggle down to sleep. Now the attic air was flooded with small snores or quiet breathing from nine different species of macaws. Mercury and Sapphire were still in their nests, Sapphire snuggled up beside Mercury with the latter's wing draped over her back while Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette were snuggled in their nest against each other like a litter of puppies. Mars and Chiquitita were also snuggled together, Mars snoring slightly but Chiquitita breathing quietly and occasionally stirring. Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre also slept soundly, Alexandre wriggling a bit as he dreamt. Next to them, Jupiter, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto also slept in deep slumber in their baskets. Saturn, Orquidea, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titans and Iapetus were the same, as were Uranus and Esmeralda, and Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon. Next to the great green macaws, Neptune, Ultramarine, Indigo and Triton were also sound asleep. Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Blueberry, Charon, Flor and Quincy, and Ceres, Cobalto, Wilbur, Aurelio and Azul were also in a deep sleep, as were Zephyr and Venus's chicks Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil. Some of the chicks were dreaming. Matilda was murmuring something about hanging out with Tiago and setting up more pranks, while Ganymede murmured various scientific facts. Charlotte and Callisto dreamt about soccer while Io hummed to the songs she had been listening to in her sleep. Miranda also murmured something about colourful things and painting, Ariel dreamt about nature, Umbriel dreamt about insects, Titania dreamt about flowers while Oberon dreamt about soccer and nature. Some of Saturn and Orquidea's chicks dreamt about dancing and brightly coloured insects like butterflies while the other chicks seemed quiet or dreamt about various things with no particular focus on a specific subject. The adults also dreamt about various things. Mercury dreamt about playing with his daughters, while Jupiter had dreams of London, his home city in the UK. But there was one adult macaw who was not having a very good dream at all. Zephyr and Venus were also asleep in their nest; Venus snuggled against Zephyr's side with his wing draped over her back. However, Venus was squirming and moaning as her dream played.

In Venus's dream, Venus found herself in some sort of dark alleyway-like maze. The maze split off into two opposing directions and into infinity, but along the way, more paths joined perpendicularly to the main one, meeting in the same way crossroads met. Venus was in the middle of one such crossroad-like split, the two joining alleys each running off into the distance at right angles to the main path, getting darker the further away. The walls on the sides of the path were made of bone white, solid bricks and they extended infinitely into the sky, fading into white above Venus. Venus's yellow eyes were swollen with terror as she examined the frightening surroundings. She then heard a distant voice. At this, Venus froze and began to listen to it. The distant voice sounded in distress and familiar. Venus flooded with dread as the voice's owner's identity formulated in her mind, began to feel the urge to follow the sound, so she did. She opened her wings and took off to trace the voice's owner. As Venus flew on, more side alleys appeared and disappeared as they flowed by.

"Zephyr!" Venus called, looking around the bare but rather creepy-looking walled maze and its passageways. "Zephyr, where are you!?"

The voice, which belonged to Zephyr's then increased in soundness to the point that Venus could now deduce whole and meaningful words.

"Venus!" the voice called, "Venus! Help us!"

Then some more additional voices, with pitches higher than Zephyr's, correlating to the pitch of a young chicks' voice sounded.

"Mommy!" cried these additional voices. Venus, upon hearing these cried out, "Justin, Charlotte, Matilda, Virgil!"

And with that, she accelerated on, following the direction of the distressed cries, one belonging to an adult male macaw and the others belonging to four frightened chicks. Venus continued flying on, the sounds of the voices getting louder and louder, but then another voice, one more wicked than the other seven, sounded in the form of an evil cackle, sending chills down Venus's spine. Propelled by this, Venus accelerated her flight more, screeching the names of her kids and mate. She then stopped into a hover, looked this way and that down a pair of opposing paths that stretched into the darkness of infinity, before choosing a path based on the voices' direction. Then Venus shot off like a rocket down her chosen path. Her wing muscles crawled with ache and her lungs were gasping for more air. Her heart was beating ten to the dozen while chills turned her blood to ice and her nerves and skin to prickly static. As Venus flew on, the voices got louder and louder but the louder they got, the greater the fire of panic within her. Venus continued yelling Zephyr and her chicks' names until finally; she braked sharply into a hover, but what she saw sent horror exploding through her like a shockwave. Zephyr, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil were all in a tight cage, and Zephyr was covered in bleeding claw marks and blood was trickling from his injuries, bald patches where feathers had been torn out, and black and blue blooms indicating bruises, including one around his left eye. Zephyr's eyes were filled with terror and desperation while the chicks' eyes were flooded with immense fright. The look of fright in their eyes sent shivers down Venus's spine for she had never seen such enormous fright in the eyes of her chicks before, but the fright of the chicks was far more extreme than Venus could imagine. It was though they had had a whirlwind of black fear consuming them. Behind the cage holding Venus's mate and four chicks, macaw carcases dotted the floor in front of the black background, all with gashes and ripped out feathers streaking and dotting their bodies. Venus glared hard at them and realised that these bodies belonged to her friends, and she winced when she saw the body of a muscular scarlet macaw with vermillion feathers lying near Zephyr and the chicks' cage, his brown eyes glassy like those of a plastic doll. The other bodies were either scarlet, green-winged, Lear's, blue-throated, blue-and-gold, great green, glaucous or hyacinth macaws, adults and chicks, but none were Spix macaws or cockatoos for Venus could not identify Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago, or Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa among the bodies.

"Venus, help UUUUSSS!" cried Zephyr desperately while the chicks screamed, snapping Venus out of her horrified trance at the corpses. Venus then rocketed forward but then something appeared behind her and latched onto her wings and body, stopping her in her tracks. At this, Venus shot a glance behind and saw that the restraining was caused by shadowy black arms resembling the front legs and paws of cats. The paws were hooked around Venus's wings and body and they prevented her from flying towards her caged family. Desperately, she began to struggle in the shadowy paws' grasp, but to no avail. When she saw that she was getting nowhere and that the grip of the paws had tightened on her wings and body, Venus looked up at her family, their eyes full of untold terror and pleading. Then a menacing laughter erupted from the blackness in the background behind Venus's caged family and the macaw carcases, sending even more chills coursing down Venus's spine like an impulse travelling along a nerve. That laughter sounded familiar. Then Venus looked up and to her horror, a figure melted out of the blackness of the shadowy background and sauntered like a hunter towards Zephyr and the chicks in the tight cage who began to struggle, desperate to get out of the cage. The figure stepped over Jupiter's dead body and then approached the cage. The figure was in silhouette except for a pair of glistening eyes, but Venus could easily make out its shape. The figure had a definitive head. On top of the head was a crest of feathers, like those of Travis and Sunset but longer and more tatty. The figure's head widened but then narrowed into a neck, before widening again into a barrel-shaped body. On either sides of the body were a pair of wings spread out while below the body were a pair of talons. On the head of the figure were glistening, umber brown eyes but the glistening was no positive sparkle, like the sparkle in the eyes of someone full of hope or happiness. These eyes' sparkle was one of pure evil, menace, malice and sadism, and they were directed at the caged and helpless Zephyr and the four chicks.

Venus continued to struggle in the shadowy cats' paws but the paws did not loosen their grip on her wings and body, forcing her to only look on as the shadowy figure then shot her a thorny, poisonous glare. A beak, barely visible on the black figure's face below the eyes, then widened into an evil smile as the figure saw the horrified look on Venus's face. Then an icy-cold and cruel sentence emanated from the figure in the most bone-chilling way. "Hello, pretty bird? Remember me? I've got your beloved family caught in this cage and I have killed all your friends including their chicks."

Venus shuddered as the shadowy figure then turned its icy gaze in Zephyr and the chicks' direction, before advancing toward the cage and opening the door. The chicks all squealed and backed away towards the petrified Zephyr who wrapped his wings around the four chicks and writhed against the corner of the cage, with Venus only looking on in utter terror. Zephyr shot Venus a pleading and desperate look, screeching help but Venus, no matter how hard she struggled in the shadowy cats' paws, could not free her wings and body. It was as though she was attached to an extremely strong restraining device with no hope of writhing herself free. Then once the shadowy figure was in the cage, it shot Venus a wicked glare once again, but then it began to change colour, much to Venus's immense terror. The figure melted from a black silhouette into a grey-white figure with a pale yellow crest and a black beak. Zephyr and the chicks continued writhing in the corner of the cage, crying and wailing in desperation and fright as the figure towered over them. Venus instantly recognised the figure based on its revealed features.

"I am Nigel, the one who killed your precious little parents and sisters when you were little and the one who smuggled you outa Brazil, pretty blue macaw with pigtails," crooned the sadistic cockatoo figure. Venus looked on, mortified but then that changed to utter horror as she saw what the cockatoo was about to do to Zephyr and the chicks who began to scream and wail like crazy. Venus began to struggle and writhe in the cats' paws like a fish in the jaws of the predator, desperately trying to convince the figure to spare Zephyr and her chicks.

"Please, Nigel, don't do it!" she shouted, "They haven't done anything wrong!"

She struggled and struggled to get free form the cats' paws but the paws' grip remained iron-tight, while her cries and protests fell on deaf ears. The cockatoo figure then knocked Zephyr down and raised a talon, claws ready. Venus looked on and screamed as her mate's cries of terror then turned into cries of immense agony, accompanied by the screams of terrified chicks and the maniacal cachinnating (loud laughter) of the cockatoo. Venus screamed loudly and screeched, "NOOOOO! ZEPHYYYYRR…"

Then through the cacophony of frightening screams and laughter, Venus heard another voice shout her name. Confusingly, it was very similar to the one owned by the male macaw in the cage.

Back in reality, Zephyr was shouting Venus's name, his wings tightly wrapped around her sides and shaking her awake.

"Venus," he cried, "Venus, wake up! You're having a bad dream."

Venus didn't stir for the nightmare had had a tight grip on her, and she continued writhing and squawking loudly.

"No, Nigel, Don't! NOOOO!" she cried. Zephyr then shot his wary looks at the other sleeping macaws, going from one basket containing a couple of macaws or group of chicks to another, including the basket holding his own and Venus's four chicks and began to take drastic action when his cries and shakes didn't bring Venus out of the nightmare trapping her. However, he began to feel regret at this idea but he had no other choice. Venus's petrified cries could wake up the other macaws.

"I'm sorry if this hurts, Venus," he moaned and began to implement the idea. Raising a wing, he began to slap Venus on the cheek in a desperate attempt to wake her up and bring her out of the nightmare's vice-grip. He kept slapping her cheek until finally, the sharp pain from the slaps dragged Venus from the nightmare and back into reality through the gate of waking up. As soon as Venus's yellow eyes opened, Zephyr stopped slapping her face. It took a while for Venus to register where she was, for she was clouded by confusion at first. But after shooting confused gazes in different directions at her surroundings and realising that she was back in the attic, Venus calmed down and found herself gazing into a pair of green eyes plastered with concern.

"Wh-wh-where am I?" she murmured.

"You were having a bad nightmare," explained Zephyr, "When you started writhing quite violently beside me and squawking, I became concerned and tried to shout and shake you awake but when that didn't work, I resorted to slapping your face to get you out of that nightmare."

Venus, at this, looked at him. Then she felt a bit of stinging pain emanating from her cheek, so she raised a wing and touched it where Zephyr had slapped her.

"Look, I'm sorry for slapping you but I didn't know what else to do," said Zephyr, "And since I didn't want the other macaws to be interrupted from their sleep, I had to resort to something drastic to wake you up quickly."

Venus then felt a wave of horror and fright, caused by the shock of her nightmare, wash over her and she slumped against Zephyr's side.

"Oh, it was a _horrible_ dream," she whimpered, shaking slightly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Zephyr. Venus shot him a dreaded look, not wanting to tell him about the nightmare. However, based on the concern-saturated gaze from Zephyr's face, she decided to.

A while later, Zephyr and Venus were outside on the roof under the star-studded sky lacking any clouds, so that they did not disturb the other macaws, and Venus told Zephyr everything that she had seen in her nightmare, right down to the finest detail. She told her mate about how she had seen him, covered in cuts, bruises and bald patches from torn out feathers, locked in a very tight cage with Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil, all with overflowing terror in their faces. She told him about the dead bodies of their friends including Jupiter, and about the figure of Nigel and what he did to those seven macaws, his behaviour including his evil laughs and sadistic gazes at the frightened chicks and the battered Zephyr in her dream, how she had been unable to save them, and so on. After Venus had finished explaining her bone-chilling nightmare, Zephyr was left horrified. However, reassurance squirmed under the cover of horror.

"That must have been horrible and frightening," he said, with Venus, a tear running down her cheek, nodding in agreement, "Could this connect to the trauma you had suffered at the clutches of that cockatoo?"

"I don't know but it seems like it," murmured Venus timidly, looking around as though Nigel was lurking in the darkness, about to pounce on the couple any moment. "I guess it must have come from Veggie and Catina's encounter with that cockatoo the other day."

Zephyr put a wing around Venus's back, reassurance finally forcing its way in front of horror at Venus's dream.

"Look, Veggie and Catina had issued that cockatoo a strong warning not to lay a claw on any of us or other exotic bird," he said firmly, "And if he does not listen, he will face serious consequences. As far as him threatening our family or friends is concerned, I will not hesitate to jump to their defence, especially you and our chicks, and you know what Blu and Jewel would do if they ever come across that foul cockatoo."

Venus nodded. She knew that Blu and Jewel despised Nigel with a burning passion and would hate to think if that cockatoo ever clashed with those two Spix macaws. Blu, Jewel and Nigel absolutely DON'T mix, much like water and electricity, boiling oil and cold water, or an often-unheard-of metal called caesium and water. The latter two would be the best description for the relationship between the Spix macaw couple and the cockatoo, for Venus knew what always happened if cold water was poured into a pan of boiling oil, or when a piece of caesium was dropped into a bowl of water. Like how caesium would explode violently in water, Blu and Jewel's meeting of Nigel would almost always explode violently as well, especially now that they have three chicks by their sides. Then Venus felt her fears of the chances of Nigel finding the group melt away as Zephyr's reassuring words thawed them. After this, she wrapped her wings around Zephyr and dragged him into a close embrace, crying her eyes out. Zephyr returned the hug and allowed her to cry into his shoulder. The pair of Spix macaws continued staying on the roof until finally, they left for the hole and returned into the attic to go back to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11- the next morning, those troublesome toucan kids!**

The sun rose into the sky, along with the daytime activities of the city of Rio and in the forest next to it. As usual, Susan and Lucy went through their morning routine jobs such as having breakfast, preparing for work, doing Bible study and feeding Dash, Veggie and their families, especially the pregnant Ginger for she will require more food in the coming weeks until her puppies were born.While the cats and dogs ate their breakfast while Susan and Lucy had theirs, Veggie shot a glance at the ceiling, thinking of the macaws, but he will not meet them until Susan and Lucy had left for work. Up in the attic, the macaws were all awake and the adults were preparing for their foraging trip to bring back breakfast for their mates and chicks. Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa were with them, having woken up in their birdhouse and joined the macaws in the attic. Mars stretched his wings.

"Unngh," he groaned as he did it, "That first night has been restful. It's time to prepare for our first foraging trip in Rio in months, since our departure to the Amazon rainforest to find the macaw tribes and clans."

He then shook his wings and feathers while Chiquitita looked over Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre as they also woke up. Nearby, Ruby proudly looked over Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto while Jupiter organised the foraging group, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Cobalto already prepared for the flight and search for fruit while their respective mates Orquidea, Esmeralda, Ultramarine and Ceres also looked over their chicks as they stretched and yawned awake. Pluto prepared to join the foraging group when he noticed something a bit odd about the look on Venus's face.

"Hey, Lapis Lazuli," he said to his mate as she said, 'Good morning' to her chicks Quincy, Charon, Blueberry and Flor, "Venus doesn't look very happy this morning."

Lapis Lazuli stole a glance from Venus and saw the sorrowful and timid look on her face as she and Zephyr greeted their chicks Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil. A pang of pity pricked the female lapis lazuli-coloured glaucous macaw's inside.

"She must still be shaken from that bad dream she had last night," she said, "I overheard Zephyr tell Jupiter about some nightmare Venus had last night."

"Nightmare?" repeated Pluto in wonder.

"Just prepare for foraging," said Lapis Lazuli firmly, cutting off the subject abruptly, "Our chicks are moaning of hunger."

Indeed they were. Charon, Blueberry, Quincy and Flor's stomachs were groaning as were Lapis Lazuli, Pluto and everyone else's tummies. Feeling his stomach shout to him to feed it in the form of grumbles, Pluto left for the foraging group. Then Zephyr, Mercury, Travis and Mars joined the foraging group and within moments, the fathers were ready to fly out into the forest to bring back breakfast. Saturn saw the worried look on Zephyr's face as he gazed at Venus as she tended to Justin and his three siblings.

"Are you alright, Zephyr?" he asked concerned.

"Yes," said Zephyr, rubbing his face with a wing, "Still a bit… troubled by the nightmare Venus had last night."

"Nightmare?" repeated Uranus.

"What about?" asked Mercury.

"It's too complicated and disturbing," replied Zephyr, "I'd rather not explain it to you guys, but it's nothing to worry about."

Saturn, Mercury and Uranus continued gazing at the Spix macaw for a few more seconds until finally; they left the subject at Zephyr's request and turned to face Jupiter. The burly scarlet macaw then clapped his turquoise wing flight feathers together, a smile on his beak as bright as the rising sun.

"Right, chaps; Are we ready to forage for some grub for our mates and kiddies?" he said, expressing his humorous streak. Jupiter was sometimes quite funny and loved to express humour.

"Yes," said the other nine fathers including Travis. Sunset flashed a smile of amusement as she tended to Eustace, Milo and Rosa.

"Jupiter sure can be a funny macaw sometimes," she said to herself. Jupiter then widened his cheeky smile and turned to the hole.

"Alrighty, let's get this trip on the wing!" he crowed. Then with a cheer each, Travis, Mercury, Zephyr (whose concern for Venus had faded), Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Cobalto and Pluto prepared to follow Jupiter toward the hollow when suddenly, "Morning, everyone!"

At this, the fathers all stopped while the mothers and the chicks all looked up and to their surprise, five more Spix macaws, one large male with blue feathers and brown eyes, one large female with cerulean feathers and teal eyes, and three small chicks (two females, one chubby with green eyes and the other slender with brown eyes and both with cerulean feathers, and the third male with blue feathers and brown eyes) entered the attic through the hole. The male macaw with the blue feathers and brown eyes carried with him a huge plastic bag (which appeared to be a shopping bag) of food, but the bag's contents were not fruit picked from trees on a foraging trip, but artificially prepared fruit and nuts (such as in tins) and some other treats. When Jupiter and the other fathers saw what Blu had in his talons as he fluttered down onto the floor with Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago touching down to meet the other mothers and chicks, Jupiter almost fainted while the other fathers reacted in a variety of different ways. Mercury clasped a wing to his beak in shock while Zephyr's went to his forehead, his head bowed and eyes shut in annoyance, Mars, Saturn and Uranus's jaws dropped open while Pluto, Cobalto and Neptune just stood there, eyes bulging an beaks partly open in shock. The mothers also looked on in flabbergast as Blu then placed the shopping bag onto the floor, opened it and took out some of its contents, among them tinned mangos, tinned Brazil nuts and tinned pineapples, and placed them onto the floor. Jewel clearly did not look very amused at her mate's idea of bring that bag full of that lot along, especially when she rolled her eyes as she saw the stuff in Blu's bag. Then finally, Jupiter found the appropriate selection of words to speak.

"What on earth have you got there, Blu?" he asked in bemusement. Blu showed him two of the tins full of mangoes

"Breakfast," he replied, "For you and your chicks."

"What!?" snapped Mars in shock.

"Breakfast!?" repeated Zephyr incredulously.

"But Blu, that's _tinned_ fruit," said Jupiter, "We have gone off eating human prepared food, though Travis and his family still sometimes eat some of it."

"Yeah, and besides that," said Travis, "We were about to leave on a foraging trip to gather some fruit from the trees of the forest to bring back to our families."

Blu stood there, confused. "I wonder why you ten were lined up near the entrance, actually," he said. However, the atmosphere above Jupiter and his group including the mothers flashed with disappointment and annoyance at the formerly domesticated American macaw. Then Sapphire stepped forward.

"I thought you would have gone off human things by now, Blu," she asked in disappointment, "We thought that you would have learned how to forage for food the way we macaws do it in the natural environment rather than take it from the human storage thingie-dummy or whatever they call it…"

"Cupboard," said Venus.

"That's right," said Sapphire, "But it seems that you have returned to your old domesticated habits."

Blu shot the female Lear's and Spix macaws an insistent look. "But this is my special treat for you guys," he protested, "I just thought your chicks might try some human prepared food for a little change…"

"Blu," said Jewel firmly, "I told you this was a bad idea. I can see that Jupiter and the others are not going to agree with this."

Blu looked at the faces of Jupiter and the other adult macaws, and Travis and Sunset and could see that Jewel was right. The faces of each of the macaws were laced with disagreement and disapproval, and the obvious dislike of seeing their chicks consuming artificially prepared fruit and nuts. Not to mention other human food that macaws don't normally eat or drink, like marshmallows or coffee. The idea of his four kids drinking hot chocolate (specially prepared for pets for truly human chocolate was toxic to macaws) from a human cup made Zephyr flinch. That idea was too human-like, and Zephyr did not want his four chicks starting on that sort of path like how Carla, Bia and Tiago almost did. Venus seemed to agree with this. Then Jupiter uttered a moan of defeat. Seeing that flying out and foraging for food was utterly pointless now that Blu had brought that lot in, he decided to go along with Blu's insistence.

"Alright, we'll eat of the tinned fruit and nuts," he muttered, but he then gave Blu the stink eye, "But I want you to get this into your head, pet, this will be the ONLY time our chicks will eat artificially prepared fruit and nuts. After this, we're going to feed our families the NATURAL way and that is by foraging out in the forest."

As Jupiter deliberately uttered the most despised 'p' word to Blu to emphasize his point, the latter's eyes flashed with revulsion.

"And we'll be expecting you to forage for food that way as well," put in Jewel.

"Alright," muttered Blu sulkily and prepared to open the first tin of mangoes using his beak. As he did that, Lapis Lazuli raised a wing to cover her beak and whispered to Orquidea, "Something tells me that Blu seems to have a stubborn and insistent streak, especially when it comes to human things."

"Yes, definitely," replied Orquidea in agreement. She then began to ready Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus to receive some of the fruit Blu had brought. Blu then opened more of the tinned fruit and nuts and distributed them to Jupiter's group including Travis and his family, and his own three chicks Carla, Bia and Tiago. Then soon, the group began to eat. As he began to eat some of the fruit from the tins, Blu asked Jupiter, "Have you ever tried waffles before?"

"No I haven't," replied Jupiter as he ate a piece of peach, "Don't like the things."

"Waffles?" asked Ruby with a confused frown.

"They're a square food with smaller square-shaped holes in them," explained Jupiter, "Blu seems to love those things as well."

"Ah," replied Ruby as she fed a piece of pineapple to Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, "Well, you'll never get our chicks eating those. They're not proper macaw food."

"Have you ever tried pancakes?" asked Blu, "I would love to cook some for your chicks, like how I did for my own."

"Like waffles, pancakes are not parrot food," replied Jupiter, "And besides that, pancakes don't agree with some of us. Uranus tried a piece of one and it gave him indigestion for hours."

"I never went anywhere near one since," said Uranus as he ate some nuts while Esmeralda, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon ate some more fruit. "Because of that, our owners Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake always kept me away from pancakes."

"Crackers?" asked Blu as he ate a piece of nut, "Has any of you tried crackers before?"

"Jupiter has once," said Saturn, "But he wasn't keen on them."

Jupiter nodded in agreement while Ruby wrinkled her beak in distaste. "Bland, sickly things, anyway," she uttered in disgust, "Roberto especially detests them."

"Crackers are best left for the humans to eat, anyway," said Venus as she fed Justin a piece of mango, "Though some parrots do like, even love, them. I know Ónix the red-tailed black cockatoo loves crackers but they're a rare treat for him as he most often eats the proper parrot food provided to him by his owners."

The chicks then began to squeak in delight.

"I would love to try a pancake," said Phoebe as Sapphire fed her a piece of papaya.

"So would I," said Jasmine.

"Me three," said Annette. Sapphire and Mercury, however, wore disagreeing looks on their faces.

"I'm afraid pancakes are a no-go, you three," said Sapphire firmly much to the three chicks' disappointment.

"We don't want you becoming ill," said Mercury. He then shot Carla, Bia and Tiago a glare and said, "It's a wonder those three didn't get a stomach-ache from eating that non-macaw food junk."

And with that, he shot Blu a stink eye, much to Blu's embarrassment. Jewel just sighed and said nothing. Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil also had a hopeful look on each of their faces but when they were met by the disapproving and disagreeing looks from their parents Zephyr and Venus, they also let loose sighs or groans of disappointment as well. Phobos and Deimos looked repulsed at the idea of tasting pancakes but Alexandre looked considering. Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto weren't sure of what to think but based on how much their parents Jupiter and Ruby were against them sampling human food for fear that they might end up unwell, they immediately put the idea out of their head. Saturn and Orquidea's seven chicks, Mimas and her six siblings, also did not consider sampling human food and Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon wore the same uncertain look, especially after hearing what had happened to their father Uranus after he had eaten a piece of pancake back in London and ended up with indigestion for hours. Triton and Indigo despised the idea of sampling pancakes, thinking of them as manky, gristly yucky things while Wilbur, Aurelio, Azul, and Blueberry, Charon, Flor and Quincy looked considering, but Cobalto, Ceres, Lapis Lazuli and Pluto also wore disagreeing looks for they agreed with everyone else about them eating human food. Travis and Sunset also had the same look on their faces in regard to Eustace, Rosa and Milo tasting human food as well. Though they did sometimes eat food prepared or made by humans, it was only if that food contained proper fruit and nuts. But Travis and Sunset would prefer it if their chicks ate naturally foraged food.

While the birds continued eating, Jewel saw the rather timid look on Venus's face.

"Are you alright, Venus?" she asked with concern. Venus looked up at her and just shook off the timid look.

"Oh, I'm fine," she said, wiping her face with a wing, "Just… had a horrible nightmare last night."

"Really?" asked Blu, "What about?"

"It's too disturbing to describe," said Venus who shuddered as the memories of the horrid nightmare and its contents flashed in her mind. "Also, I would rather not explain it with kids around."

Blu and Jewel looked at each other and then continued eating. Then Ganymede and Bia examined the nutrition information on one of the tins, the empty tin of camu-camu fruit.

"Hey did you know that camu-camu fruit is rich in vitamin C?" asked Bia.

"Oh, no, here we go," muttered Travis in amusement.

"Yes," said Sunset.

"It is the most important feature of the fruit," explained Ganymede, "Vitamin C is important in the healthy function of the immune system and also as a cofactor for certain enzymes such as those that process the synthesis of collagen and the catabolism of tyrosine…"

"Those two should get a PhD at university," said Travis with an amused smile, "They're so clever in the field of science and maths…"

"Tell us about it," said Mars.

"University?" asked Chiquitita confused.

"It's a place where humans study subjects at a high level," explained Mars. Saturn then gazed at Ganymede and Bia as they began to spout out more scientific facts about more fruit and nuts. "Those two should be teachers of our macaw tribes and clans' chicks when they grow up," he said, "They would make excellent nature teachers."

"Bia takes after Blu without a doubt," said Orquidea, making Blu smile sheepishly, "But as for Ganymede, I'm not sure where he got his talent from."

"Neither Ruby nor Jupiter are very intelligent in the sciences and maths like Blu, Bia and Ganymede," said Uranus. Jupiter and Ruby just smiled. As the group continued eating with Pluto finishing first, Travis asked, "So, what are today's plans?"

"Well, we're gonna be visiting Rafael and Eva," said Jupiter, "We've yet to visit those two toucans…"

"Well if you are going to do that, be warned," said Jewel, "Those two are likely to have their new kids about."

"They jumped at us yesterday," said Blu.

"Okay, thanks for the warning," said Travis.

"I still don't believe that Rafael and his screechy mate would have that many kids in the previous six or seven months," muttered Sunset, "Like Saturn said, they seem to love breeding like rabbits."

"Tell me about it," said Blu as he finished the last of his breakfast. Then bit by bit, more and more birds finished their breakfast and when Saturn and Orquidea had finished theirs last, the trapdoor leading to the upstairs hallway dropped open and the folded up ladder dropped down, alerting the group.

"Someone's coming," said Mercury timidly. At this, all heads turned toward the trapdoor but to their relief, a cat's head with brown eyes and brown, black and orange stripes appeared.

"Hi, macaws, Travis, Sunset," said the cat, Veggie, "Had a good night last night?"

His eyes then landed on Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago, to his surprise. "Oh, hi, you five," he said.

"Yes we did have a good night," said Jupiter in reply. He then flashed a concerned look at Venus and Zephyr. "But… one of us seemed to have had a bit of a disturbing nightmare…"

"Oh, nightmares do sometimes happen," said Veggie as Catina then hopped up. "When Broccoli, Collette, Daisy and Thomas were little kittens, Broccoli had had a very disturbing nightmare, about two big black dogs chasing him down an alley, he told us, so Catina sung him a lullaby to help him get back to sleep.

"Oh, mine was much worse but I'd rather not talk about it," said Venus with a slight shudder. Veggie shot her a sympathetic look and then looked at the other macaws.

"Susan and Lucy have just departed for work," he said, "That's why we've come up to see you."

"So, you lot, what are your plans form today?" asked Catina, "I'm going to go out on a walk with Ginger as I'd like to talk to her about me and Veggie having another litter of kittens."

"We heard that Ginger is pregnant with another litter of puppies," said Jupiter with a smile, "Travis told us."

Blu and Jewel shot the well-built scarlet macaw a surprised look.

"Ginger's pregnant again?" said Blu.

"Lucy took her to the vet's and it's been confirmed last night," explained Sunset.

"Exactly," said Catina, "We're not sure how many puppies are in that litter but it's been estimated to be around four or five."

"At least she'll not be having puppies in the tens," said Saturn, "We know that some dogs can have litters of up to fifteen puppies. We came across a Border collie mother who had given birth to fourteen puppies before back in London.

"That's a lot of puppies," said Blu, "But in large litters like that, some don't often survive for very long after birth due to the inability of the mother to provide that many foetuses with nutrients through the placenta."

"What's a placenta?" asked Mimas who stood with her parents and six siblings.

"You're a bit young to know at the moment," said Saturn.

"It's okay," said Blu. He then looked at Mimas and explained it. "A placenta's an organ that develops in a mother mammal's womb. It is where nutrients and oxygen are transferred from the mother's blood to the baby's blood and taken to the baby for nourishment."

"Wow," gasped Mimas with eyes swollen in awe. "Do we birds develop it too?"

"Nooo," said Orquidea with an amused smile on her beak, "We hatch from eggs, not born live as in most mammals."

Mimas looked up curiously, as did Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus. They were very inquisitive about reproduction, especially Enceladus for he loved nature. However, they were still too young to know the details of the process including how babies were born. Then Veggie moved things on.

"So, what else have you got planned for today?" he asked. Jewel then shot Blu a frown.

"Well, I'm gonna take tin can boy here out on a proper foraging lesson," she muttered, "I'm not gonna have him sinking back into his domesticated ways while we're here."

"What has he done?" asked Veggie. Saturn replied by brandishing an empty fruit tin.

"We were about to fly out to forage for our families," said the male blue-and-gold macaw as he held it, "But Blu brought in some tinned fruit and nuts, quashing our plans."

Blu's skin flashed red under his blue facial feathers as Saturn said this.

"Oh," said Veggie with a frown at Blu, "Still wading in his former domesticated lifestyle, eh?"

Blu was about to reply but hit a brick wall. He had nothing to say about this at all. Then Jupiter stepped in and said, "Well, let's prepare four our flight out to meet Rafael and Eva. Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto are getting impatient here."

And with that, he clapped his wings to gather his group while Jewel gave Blu another stink look.

"And I'll be taking him out on a proper foraging trip while you do that," she said, much to Blu's shame. Jewel then turned to Veggie and Catina, "Do you mind looking after Carla, Bia and Tiago while we're away? We won't be long. It's just a short flight out into the forest on a practice forage trip."

"No, we don't mind," said Catina with a smile. At this, Carla, Bia and Tiago hopped over to the cat couple.

"As long as they don't cause Ginger too much bother, especially Tiago," said Veggie with a slight frown.

"Why?" asked Tiago. Veggie looked at him.

"She's pregnant, little T-Bird," he said, "Thus she is prone to mood snaps. I don't want you thinking about playing a prank on her. Is that understood?"

"Yes," said Tiago. He did not want to face a yelling at from Ginger. While she was usually nice, she sometimes was a bit snappy, but because she was expecting a second litter of puppies, her hormonal changes made her more prone to snapping at even the slightest irritation. An example of that sounded from downstairs.

"Look, Collette and Thomas will you LEAVE ME ALONE!?" shouted Ginger's voice, making the group in the attic flinch. Bia and Carla absorbed Veggie's warning about Ginger's temperament.

"Ah-hem, as I was saying," said Veggie, "Ginger is very moody. Sounds like two of our grown-up offspring have been pestering her again."

Travis and Catina walked in and looked downstairs through the trapdoor.

"We're gonna have to be careful and try to keep out of her way as soon as possible," she said.

"I remember behaving like that before my and Zephyr's four eggs appeared in our nest," said Venus. "I was very snappy and sometimes short-tempered."

Zephyr nodded in agreement. Much like female mammals when they were expecting offspring, female birds seemed to become moody when an egg was developing. Venus had been very snappy and irritable before Justin's egg appeared in the nest. Then Jupiter said, "Right, is everyone ready?"

At this, all the macaws including the chicks, and Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa gathered around him. They stood in a single-file curve so that Jupiter could do a headcount. While they did that, Blu and Jewel turned to their three chicks.

"Now you be good, you three, and make sure you obey Dash, Veggie and Catina's orders and respect Ginger's boundaries," said Blu firmly, "Sher is going to be like that until her puppies are born."

"We don't wanna hear a bad report from any of you, is that clear?" said Jewel firmly. Carla, Bias and Tiago's heads nodded to show that they understood.

"Yes, Mom," said Carla as she held her Ipod that she carried with her during her family's flight to Susan and Lucy's house.

"Absolutely, Mom," said Bia.

"Yes, Mom," said Tiago. Jewel smiled, satisfied that her two daughters and sons promised to be obedient to the rules.

"We'll see you three when we get back," she said and with that, she nodded to Blu, who followed. As the couple then flapped up to the hole to leave, Jupiter looked at Veggie, Catina and Blu and Jewel's chicks. "We'll also be back in a while," he said, "But probably a bit longer than Blu and Jewel. It depends how long we want to spend with Rafael and Eva."

Io had her Ipod with her and prepared to carry it with her to Rafael and Eva's place. Ruby looked down at her daughter.

"Er, Io, my daughter, I th9ink it's best if you leave that here," she said. Io, at this, looked up at her.

"But I wanna take it with me and share my music with Uncle Rafael and Aunt Eva's kids," she insisted. Ruby, at first, hesitated, blocked by uncertainty at Io's decision. But seeing the insistent look on Io's face, she relented, but she dreaded to think of Io's reaction if her Ipod got broken, especially with Rafael and Eva's rambunctious kids about, and based on Blu and Jewel's report, they seemed to be as bad as their older siblings. Then Jupiter clapped his wings once again and everyone walked towards the hole. Each macaw and chick said goodbye to Veggie, Catina and Carla, Bia and Tiago before leaving through the hole. As he watched the macaws and cockatoos disappear through the hole a few at a time, Veggie smiled.

"Let's go downstairs," he said. And with that, he left. Catina, Carla, Bia and Tiago followed, leaving the remaining macaws to leave through the hole. As the five flew or climbed down the ladder onto the floor of the landing, Catina flashed a look of concern.

"Did you see Io take her Ipod?" she asked, "I don't think that's a good idea. She has so many songs on it."

"Well, it's too late to do anything now," said Veggie, "Let's join Dash and the grown-up kittens and puppies."

Carla, Bia and Tiago smiled and flew off downstairs, followed by the cat couple.

A while later Jupiter and company were on their way to Rafael and Eva's hollow, flying in formation with Jupiter, Ruby, Io (with her Ipod and headphones in her ears and hanging beneath her), Europa, Ganymede and Callisto flying in the front. Behind the scarlet macaw family flew Venus, Zephyr and Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil; Mars, Chiquitita, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre with Phobos and Deimos riding on Mars's back, and Mercury, Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette. Behind the Lear's, green-winged and Spix macaw families flew Saturn, Orquidea, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus, and Uranus, Esmeralda, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon, and Neptune, Indigo, Ultramarine and Triton, while Ceres, Cobalto, Aurelio, Azul, Wilbur, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Charon, Blueberry, Flor, Quincy and Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa flew closely behind the great green and blue-and-gold macaw families. As the colourful flock flew through the trees, they observed the flowing surroundings around them. The trees were full of colourful feathered forms as the avian residents of Tijuca forest went about their daily business such as chatting with friends, foraging for food and teaching chicks to fly. At one point the group passed by a familiar setting where Saturn and his family recognised the tree they once stayed in. It was now occupied by a family of parrotlets which Ganymede identified as of the lilac-tailed species.

"It's hard to believe that that is where we used to live," said Saturn, "It's now been taken over by that family of birds."

"I thought our former homes might have been taken over by now," said Zephyr. The group continued scanning Saturn and his family's former neighbourhood before moving on.

"Hey, Dad, when I grow up, I wanna travel someday," said Enceladus excitedly, "Perhaps with a mate and family. I might go somewhere such as Argentina."

"Really now, son?" said Saturn.

"Yeah," said Enceladus, "Have you ever been to Argentina?"

"No," said Saturn.

"Do you plan on going?" asked Mimas.

"No, and I don't plan to," said Saturn.

"And besides that, Argentina is thousands of kilometres south from here," said Orquidea, "It would take absolute days to get there by flight."

"Well, when we grow up we wanna visit Central America," said Miranda. Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon all chirped in agreement.

"I wanna visit Guyana or Venezuela someday," said Triton.

"As would I," said Indigo.

"I wanna go to Peru," said Wilbur who flew alongside his parents and brothers.

"And I wanna visit Chile or perhaps other countries outside South America?" said Eustace as he flew ahead of Travis, Sunset, Rosa and Milo. Then the chicks broke out into a cacophony of excited chirps about travelling to countries outside Brazil.

"Whoa, whoa, SILENCE!" shouted Saturn, shocking the chicks into shutting up and the cacophony to immediately stop dead. "Travelling abroad is out of the question, okay?" said Saturn to the chicks, shooting them a frown each. At this, all seven blue-and-gold, three great green, three sulfur-crested/Major Mitchell's cockatoo hybrid, both hyacinth and all three blue-throated macaw chicks all groaned in disappointment.

"It's too dangerous anyway," put in Esmeralda.

"You could be caught by poachers or something," said Ceres.

"Let's just stay focussed on visiting our toucan friends," said Jupiter at the front. The chicks all nodded and continued flying on. Another whole had passed until finally, the nine macaw families and mixed cockatoo family reached the neighbourhood of Rafael and his family. As the familiar trees melted into view, Jupiter ordered the group to perch onto a nearby large branch while he flew off to call for Rafael and Eva's attention. After the vermillion scarlet macaw had flown off, the others waited and made sure that all the chicks were present. Then Mars's head began to buzz with worry as Blu and Jewel's report on the number of chicks Rafael and Eva had been having sprung to mind.

"I hope those two toucans have disciplined those new kids of theirs," he said to the others, his wings wrapped around Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre and Chiquitita perched beside him.

"I hope so, too," said Venus sternly. Behind her, Justin, Charlotte and Matilda peered out while Virgil stood by Zephyr. Ruby stood with Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto around her, Io, bobbing her head to the beat of a song playing on her Ipod through her earphones. Callisto shot her older but smaller sister a glare.

"Those toucan cousins of ours are gonna go mad for that when they see it, sis," she said. Io removed an earphone with a talon and looked at Callisto.

"What did you say, Cal?" she asked.

"Your Ipod could be at risk from those big-nosed cousins of ours," said Europa, paraphrasing Callisto's statement. Though Rafael and Eva's offspring weren't macaws and they were not the biological cousins of Jupiter and his group's kids, they were treated like an extended family for Rafael and Eva were close friends of Blu and Jewel, and thus them. Ganymede then spoke.

"By my calculations," he said, "The chances of Uncle Rafael and Aunt Eva's kids rushing in and taking and possibly damaging your Ipod are, uh… ninety percent," he said. Io shrugged off the warnings from her siblings.

"Don't worry, my Ipod will be fine," she said, before reinserting her removed headphone back into her ear to continue listening to some music. The group continued to wait.

"What's taking Uncle Jupiter so long?" asked Phobos.

"Oh, try to be patient, son," said Mars, "He won't be long."

"He's probably run into the new additions to those two toucans' family," muttered Chiqutita.

"I hope not," said Mercury, Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette flanking him, "After what happened the last time we met their first eighteen troublemakers of kids."

Sapphire just said nothing but nodded her head in agreement to this. The group continued waiting as another minute passed.

"Come on, Jupiter," muttered Uranus impatiently, "What's taking you so long?"

Then suddenly, a panicky voice sounded, arousing awareness of the group. Travis identified the voice's owner.

"That sounds like Jupiter," he said, "Looks like he's returning."

"In a state of panic?" asked Sunset with a frown. At this, Travis slowly turned to look at her before the other macaws felt an awful thought bloom within them. Then another cry of panic sounded from through the trees, followed by a, "Aaah! HELP! Someone, see to these crowd of troublesome chicks!"

Then before the macaws and cockatoos could deduce what was happening to Jupiter, a burly male scarlet macaw, his brown eyes flooded with panic, exploded form some leaves and began to fly around like a bird being chased by a predatory bird of prey.

"Jupiter!" cried Saturn. The others looked on in horror as a small cloud of feathered forms with brightly coloured beaks emerged from the same cluster of leaves and chased after Jupiter like a swarm of bees, but with mischievous laughter instead of buzzing. All the toucan chicks had black feathers with red-tinted cream undersides, with most having orange beaks with black tips like what Rafael had. The remaining few had lime green beaks with a magenta tip, similar to Eva. Blu and Jewel had told Jupiter and his group that Rafael and Eva had sixteen new chicks, but based on the observation of the cloud of chicks boisterously chasing Jupiter; the number seemed more than twice that surrounding Rafael and Eva when Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago visited them. Jupiter then began to desperately zoom around to shake off the cloud of toucan chicks but the rambunctious kids showed no signs of giving up.

"JUMP ON HIIIIM!" shouted some of them. Jupiter continued yelping and wailing in panic while swerving this way and that, loop-de-looping and shooting about like a vermillion, turquoise and yellow comet with the bee swarm-like cloud of mischievous toucan chicks hot on his tail, keen on pouncing onto him and possibly tearing out feathers and jumping on him like a trampoline. Saturn could not believe the number of toucan chicks present, for he had deduced whom these chicks belonged to.

"Sixteen?" he said, "That doesn't seem like sixteen. More like in the thirties."

"Is that all that Blu and Jewel observed?" asked Esmeralda. Ruby stepped in and saw the trouble her mate was in.

"I don't know but they're certainly causing Jupiter a lot of panic," she said sternly and with that, she rocketed off, leaving Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto under Mars's care to help Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Zephyr and Cobalto following. Io and her siblings, together with the other macaw and cockatoo chicks, looked on in bewilderment.

"Are those other chicks Uncle Rafael's, Father?" asked Triton. Neptune shot him a stern look.

"I don't know but Rafael is seriously gonna be in for yelling at from us when he shows up and we restrain those kids," he growled. Then suddenly, cries from a male blue-throated macaw exploded into the air. Neptune flinched as horror exploded within him as he saw Cobalto fall onto a branch with half a dozen of the chicks on top of him. Then the six chicks began to jump up and down on the poor male blue-throated macaw while the rest continued chasing Jupiter, eluding Ruby, Saturn, Mercury and Zephyr's attempts at catching them. Then Zephyr managed to catch one of the toucan chicks in his talons.

"YOU STOP THIS MISCHIEF AT ONCE!" he yelled at the toucan chick but the chick, a mischievous grin plastered on its face, then wriggled free of Zephyr's talons, jumped onto his back and began tearing feathers out of his crest! Zephyr screeched in pain as blue feathers rained down from the toucan chick's beak, before shaking his head in an attempt to shake off the chick but the chick held on tightly like a rodeo riding a bull. Nearby, two more toucans, one with the lime green and magenta beak were riding on Saturn's back, masking him flap and bolt like a horse while the rest of the chicks continued chasing Jupiter. Then when Jupiter flew off in the direction of his group, the toucan chicks stopped, eyes wide in shock when they saw the colourful audience seated on a branch gazing at them in surprise. But then the shock became replaced by mischief as one of the toucans yelled, "ATTAAAAACK!"

And with that, the entire flock hurtled forward straight towards the group. At this, all the macaw and cockatoo chicks were screened protectively by the wings of most of the parents as the flock of toucan chicks finally made contact. Screeches of agony and mischief laughter then filled the air as the toucans chicks began to play roughly with the adults. One toucan chick was on Travis's back pulling at his yellow head feathers while Sunset was swiping her wings while at a few more toucan chicks while at the same time shielding the frightened Eustace, Milo and Rosa from the incoming feathered comets with brightly coloured beaks.

"Get outa here," she shouted, her pale pink, red and yellow crest fully fanned out, "Get outa here, you little delinquents!"

The toucan chicks, mischievous grins plastered on their beaks, playfully dodged Sunset's swipes and continued coming at her. Nearby, Mercury and Sapphire were trying to restrain more toucan chicks from picking on Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette. One of the toucan chicks was pulling on Phoebe's hair-like feathers, making her scream and cry. Suddenly, a pair of navy blue wings appeared and snatched the toucan away from Phoebe.

"STOP THIS at ONCE, you NAUGHTY…" yelled Mercury when the toucan chick began bopping him on the head with its beak. "OW, OW, OW, OW!" erupted from Mercury's beak after each hit. Behind him, Sapphire was struggling to restrain two more chicks with the frightened Annette and Jasmine watching from a cluster of leaves. Next to the struggling Lear's macaw family, Venus, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil, Mars, Chiquitita, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre were taking a barrage of acai berries hurled at them by more toucan chicks. With Zephyr occupied with one of the other chicks continuously tearing his head feathers out, Venus was forced to protect her four chicks from these toucans. As the blue fruit splattered into the three adults who had their wings protectively spread across the seven chicks, four Spix and three green-winged, who huddle together behind the larger macaws, Venus shot Mars and Chiquitita an infuriated glare.

"When (splat) those parents of (splat) those chicks (splat) show up," she said, speaking between each splat, "I'm gonna (splat) give them what (splat) for!"

"So will (splat) I, Venus!" snarled Mars as a berry exploded in his face, smothering him in its blue juice.

"Yeah," shouted Chiquitita a second before another acai berry struck her face. The berry throwing chicks cackled mischievously and continued pelting the poor female pigtailed Spix macaw, the diminutive female green-winged macaw and the male green-winged macaw with more acai berries. Next to Venus and the others with her, Ceres was hugging Aurelio, Azul and Wilbur close to her as three more toucan kids hurled pieces of mango at her. Ceres's sons wailed and whimpered in scared as the fruit pelted Ceres and rolled off her. The toucan chicks laughed and continued throwing mango at Ceres. The female blue-throated macaw's grey eyes were ablaze with sheer anger at the seriously misbehaved toucan kids.

"This is DOWNRIGHT BEYOND A JOKE!" she yelled, her eyes tight shut as a mango piece hit her face, "Tell us ABOUT IT!" shouted Pluto as he, Lapis Lazuli kept Charon, Blueberry, Flor and Quincy close to them as three more toucan chicks struck them with small seeds fired through hollow twigs like peashooters. The seeds shot through the air like bullets and bounced off of the two glaucous macaws' heads. One seed struck Flor in the face and she began to cry, making Pluto burn in anger. "I'm gonna THROTTLE those parents when they show up!" he snarled as he heard his youngest daughter sob, wincing as each seed struck his face and body. Nearby, Orquidea, Uranus and Esmeralda, Neptune and Ultramarine were struggling with more toucan chicks. Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus, together with Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon, Indigo and Triton had gone into hiding among a large cluster of leaves like how Annette and Jasmine had done. They watched in horror and fright as the toucan chicks attached and bit their parents. Esmeralda struggled with three of the kids pulling at her wing feathers while Uranus was playing a sort of whack-a-mole type game with three more toucan chicks in a mesh of branches and twigs. Every time Uranus swiped a wing at a toucan chick, it will disappear while another one appeared somewhere else, sometimes blowing a raspberry at the male great green macaw or pelt him with an acai berry. As Uranus futilely attempted to catch the appearing and disappearing toucans, either receiving a cheeky raspberry blow or an acai berry to the face, he shouted and vented his frustration.

"If this is some sort of practical joke, it CERTAINLY ISN'T FUNNY!" he bellowed, an acai berry splattering him in the face like an egg, "How can any parent deal with a bunch of rambunctiously troublesome kids like THESE!?"

He flinched as a seed popped out from a toucan chick and struck him in the forehead. The chick that had fired the seed through another hollow twig laughed before disappearing under the mesh as Uranus's wing flew at it. Orquidea, Neptune and Ultramarine struggled as more toucan chicks jumped on them like trampolines. Then suddenly, shouts from a female scarlet macaw chick erupted nearby.

"Hey, give that back, you big nosed brat, that's MINE!" it snarled. At this, Neptune turned and to his horror, he saw Io chase after a toucan chick with something glinting and metallic in its orange and black beak. One of the toucan chicks had managed to get hold of Io's Ipod and now it was flying off with it, a mischievous grin marking its face. Io furiously pursued the chick like a dog after a cat, determined to snatch her precious Ipod back. While Io was occupied with attempting to retrieve her Ipod, several more toucan chicks were picking on Europa, Ganymede and Callisto by pelting them with acai berries. Io continued chasing the toucan chick with the Ipod in its beak and when another toucan chick came by, the first chick tossed Io's Ipod to it and it caught the device in its beak, making Io swerve and pursue after it. The chick flew on, its face widened into a mocking look as it observed the volcanic look on Io's face as the young scarlet macaw chased after it. Then the second toucan chick tossed the Ipod to another chick, a lime green and magenta beaked one, who caught it and flitted away before Io could tackle it and snatch back her Ipod.

"GIVE THAT BACK NOW!" bellowed Io, furiously chasing after the chick with her Ipod. Io's eyes were yellow flames. She must have inherited her father's stormy temper for it was the same look Jupiter had whenever he got angry or defensive over his family and friends. As Io continued chasing after the toucan chick, the chick shot her a mean glance.

"You must be like a human, reddie," crooned the chick nastily, "Usin' these pretty lil' devices."

This comment made Io's yellow eyes flash with hurt briefly, but the anger returned. Then the chick landed on a branch and began to taunt Io by holding her Ipod and shaking it in an advertising way. Io charged but the toucan kid jumped into the air, sending the female scarlet macaw chick crashing into the spot where the chick had stood. Io stood up and saw the chick on an adjacent branch, tauntingly showing the scarlet macaw chick her Ipod again. Io leapt at the chick but again, the chick jumped away. This repeated for another dozen times until finally, the chick, a seriously naughty grin on its face, decided to do something nasty. After Io had dived at the Ipod again, only for the toucan chick to lift it out of her path, the chick then 'accidentally' dropped the human device, sending it careening towards the forest floor. Io turned round and saw that the chick was without her Ipod.

"Where's MY IPOD!?" she bellowed. The toucan chick, a wide nasty grin on her face, pointed downward. Io followed the point's direction and her anger turned to horror as she saw something flashy careen through the canopy. Forgetting the chick, the young female scarlet macaw folded her wings and dived down after her Ipod, the toucan chick smiling nastily after her. Io continued rocketing downward after her Ipod but before she could catch it, it was too late. A metallic smash sounded as the Ipod struck something and broke apart, much to Io's horror and mortification. Io's yellow eyes then watched helplessly as the bits of her precious Ipod then rained down towards the floor. A tear sprang into Io's eyes as she watched the remains of her favourite human object rain towards the floor. Back in the air, the other macaws and cockatoos continued struggling with the other toucan kids. Zephyr had managed to throw off the toucan kid riding him like a rodeo, before furiously glaring at the other toucan chicks as they continued to assault the other adults. But before he could rush in and take action, four more toucan adults emerged. Two were male with an orange beak with a black tip while the other two were female. One of the females had a lime green beak with a magenta tip while the other female had an orange beak with a black tip like the males. The four toucan adults had heard the serious commotion and had flown in to see what was going on. When one of the male toucans, the oldest, saw the crowd of toucan chicks attack Jupiter's group, his brown eyes exploded in horror.

"Hey, KNOCK IT OFF, YOU LOT!" he bellowed. The other three followed, with the younger male also shouting at the toucan chicks.

"Yeah, cut it out," he called. When the toucan chicks heard the four adults' voice, they all looked up, before abandoning their assault on the poor macaws and cockatoos and crowded the two male adult toucans.

"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" they all cried, clambering all over the two adult males, who were actually the fathers of these chicks, but the fathers were not impressed.

"How many times have we told you not to attack family friends?" rebuked the older male. While the two adult male toucans were occupied with the around-three-dozen chicks, the battered adult macaws all got up, their eyes burning with serious anger as they aimed at the four toucans. Then the two adult females intervened and helped the adult males to restrain the many, many chicks. Then the older male toucan looked up at the macaws and cockatoos with an apologetic look.

"We're sorry, you lot," he said, "Our kids can be a bit naughty at times."

"NAUGHTY, RAFAEL!?" snapped Jupiter furiously, "They were more than NAUGHTY!"

The male toucan, at this, froze and then re-eyed the group of macaws and cockatoos as though double checking their presence to make sure that his eyes weren't deceiving them. As soon as recognition had reached its peak, Rafael smiled.

"Jupiter, Saturn, guys," he said happily, "It's you!"

The female lime green beaked toucan also smiled but that soon faded when she noticed the looks on the adult macaw and cockatoos' faces.

"Er, Rafie, my handsome dragon-fruit," she murmured, "I don't think those lot look happy."

Rafael, at this, checked the faces of the macaws and the cockatoos and saw that the female toucan named Eva was right. Jupiter who was barely restraining his temper, stood at the front, his brown eyes ablaze with lightning.

"We have a bone to pick with you about your kids, Rafael," he growled.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12- something enters Susan and Lucy's house**

Rafael, Eva, and the other two younger adult toucans, one of which was Marco, one of Rafael and Eva's sons, and the female his mate named Anastasia, a toco toucan like her father-in-law continued standing in utter bewilderment at the cluster of messed up colourful feathered forms before them while the cloud of toucan chicks surrounded them, mischievous eyes fixated on the macaws and cockatoos they had just attacked. Jupiter and his group were in a right state. Mercury and Sapphire's navy blue feathers were messy and out of place, and Sapphire's hair-like feathers were all over the place, Venus, Mars and Chiquitita were covered from head to their chests in gooey blue acai berry juice, while Zephyr looked as though he had been dragged through a briar patch or rosebush, his lush blue feathers all bedraggled and a mess, and half of his crest feathers were missing, Jupiter looked exhausted as though he had flown a mile without stopping for a rest, and his vermillion feathers looked a bit messy too, and he was breathing heavily, Ruby also looked an absolute mess and her head feathers, which was usually kept neat and tidy by being tied up into a short ponytail by a piece of vine, were all over the place as her vine had been ripped out during the skirmish with one of the toucan chicks, Saturn's plumage was also tattered and he, too was out of breath, while Orquidea, Esmeralda, Uranus, Neptune and Ultramarine were also exhausted, breathing heavily with tattered plumages, and Uranus's face was covered in acai berry juice. Pluto and Lapis Lazuli were wincing from slight stinging pains that emanated from the spots where the seeds fired by some of the toucan chicks through hollow twigs had struck them, Ceres was covered in mango juice, Cobalto looked dazed and Travis and Sunset also looked extremely out of puff and worn out. All the chicks including Eustace, Milo and Rosa were swamped with fright and shock from the assault from the toucan kids, and they all hid behind their angry parents, small heads timidly peering out and gazing at Rafael, Eva, Anastasia, Marco and their chicks fearfully, but one scarlet macaw chick was particularly upset. When the group including Rafael and his group heard the sounds of a female scarlet macaw chick sobbing, Ruby looked down and saw Io on a lower branch with pieces of a manmade object scattered everywhere before her like a smashed fruit. At this, she opened her wings and descended towards her, leaving the others to deal with the toucans. At first, there was silence hanging over the macaws, the cockatoos and the toucans, but then Rafael broke through it.

"I er… am really sorry about this, you lot," he said but the furious look never left Jupiter's face.

"You've got some serious parenting issues, Big Nose," snarled the scarlet macaw angrily. Rafael flinched at the harshness in Jupiter's voice while some of the toucan chicks hid behind Eva, Marco and Anastasia.

"Whoa, don't become hostile," said Rafael timidly, trying to quench the lightning in Jupiter's eyes, "We were only taking our chicks, Twenty-two of which are my and Eva's grandkids and my son Marco's offspring, for a big family outing but…"

When the macaws and cockatoos heard how many chicks Marco and Anastasia had had, shock pierced through their anger.

"How MANY!?" shouted Travis incredulously, his yellow and rather tattered crest fully raised. Marco then gestured to the Twenty-two chicks hiding behind him and Anastasia.

"These are our sons and daughters and Mom and Dad's grandkids," he explained. Marco and Anastasia's chicks looked no different from their father, grandfather, grandmother or aunts and uncles. Like Marco, all the chicks had red-tinted cream bellies, either orange beaks with black tips like their father, mother and grandfather or lime green beaks with magenta tips like their grandmother, and some of the females appeared to have inherited Eva's magenta eyeshadow-like markings above their eyes. However, none of the macaws or cockatoos were interested in receiving an introduction from Marco's offspring and Rafael and Eva's grandkids, and something told the macaws that these kids' behaviour was as no different from their appearance to their father, aunts and uncles.

"When have you four applied discipline to your rambunctious offspring, Rafael and Eva?" asked Jupiter sternly once he had got his breath back, "Based on their assault on us, it seems that they are no different from when Marco and his siblings were younger."

"This is the second time we have been attacked by a bunch of naughty toucan chicks," added Zephyr angrily. Behind him and Venus, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil timidly peered around their parents' backs. Saturn shot them a glare and then back at the toucans.

"You seriously need to get your act together and discipline those hoodlum kids of yours," he growled; his dark aqua blue and yellow feathers raised, "Because if you don't, the neighbourhood is going to end up with a gang of naughty toucans prowling around causing trouble."

"Not to mention bully younger chicks," added Orquidea, a glance at Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus as they, like Zephyr and Venus's four, timidly peered from behind their parents' backs, "Our chicks here have been seriously frightened by your offspring's assault on us."

As she said this, Ruby returned to the group with the sobbing Io in her talons. Io was holding her destroyed Ipod, crying her eyes out. Rafael and Eva looked on dumbfounded while Marco and Anastasia kept a nonchalant look.

"Hey, come on now," protested Marco, gesturing to his Twenty-two kids, "Our kids are not that bad. Kids will be kids. They sometimes like a bit of mischief every now and then and sometimes they do take it a little too far but they are not hoodlums. They were only playing."

"Playing!?" spat Mercury in disgust, "They were being ABSOLUTELY naughty! Someone could have seriously got hurt here…"

"Yeah, especially our chicks," added Sapphire, gesturing to Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette, especially Phoebe who was still weeping after one of the toucan chicks had pulled on her head feathers, "One of the toucan chicks was pulling on Phoebe's feathers!"

"And that's not playing," added Sapphire, "That's bullying!"

Rafael and Eva stood back with their new sixteen chicks, watching the argument about to unfold between Marco and Anastasia and the adult macaws, Travis and Sunset. Then an angry glare crossed Marco's face.

"Are you questioning our parenting skills, you two Lear's macaws!?" he growled at Mercury and Sapphire. His kids looked at him, timidly hoping that he would defend them and make excuses for their naughty behaviour. And to their luck, they got it. Marco then gestured to his Twenty-two kids once again and said, "This lot were only playing like I have said before. They weren't being naughty or anything. They like the occasional mischief every now and then but they are NOT hoodlums."

Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto and Travis and their respective mates Mercury, Zephyr, Chiquitita, Ruby, Orquidea, Esmeralda, Ultramarine, Cobalto, Lapis Lazuli and Sunset could not believe their ears. Marco and Anastasia's kids were not hoodlums? But based on them bullying some of their chicks, pelting them with acai berries or seeds like peas, jumping up and down on them like trampolines and tearing feathers out of them and, in Io's case, snatch and destroy an Ipod certainly didn't seem like it at all. Then Anastasia stole a glance in a specific direction.

"We're off back home, anyway," she said, "We have a clutch of five eggs back home that are getting cold."

"Oh yeah, Anastasia my beautiful peach, thanks for reminding me," said Marco. He then turned to face the macaws and cockatoos once again, a sour look bitterly glowing on his face. "As for you lot," he growled, "If I ever hear you call our kids hoodlums again, I will be very, very angry. Come on, kids."

And with that, the son of Rafael and Eva left, his Twenty-two kids in tow. Some of the kids cheekily looked back at the macaws and stuck their tongues out at them before leaving after their parents. Rafael and Eva, with their sixteen new additions, only watched in bewilderment as Marco's massive family left. Mars fluttered in, using a leaf to wipe his face of any remains of acai berry juice and flesh while shooting the leaving toucan family a bitter glare.

"We certainly did not get off on the right talon, did we?" he growled. Uranus then shot Rafael and Eva a glare. His look frightened the chicks, Rafael and Eva's sixteen new additions and Marco's new siblings, into hiding behind their parents.

"Don't tell me any of your now young-adult offspring have been breeding like rabbits as well, have they?" growled the male great green macaw. Esmeralda tended to Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon and shot Rafael and Eva a glare of her own but said nothing. Rafael then proudly fluttered onto a branch with Eva and their sixteen chicks close behind, a proud smile marking his face.

"I and Eva," he said, a wing sluing around Eva's back, "Are the proud grandparents of many, many grand-chicks, Uranus."

This stopped the macaw and cockatoo group and made their heads face the toucan couple.

"Many, many grand-chicks?" repeated Chiquitita perplexed, but then it dawned upon her.

"How many of your grown-up offspring have been having chicks and how many for each one?" asked Ruby as she continued hugging the sobbing Io.

"Carlos is the father of ten with three more on the way," said Rafael, "Manoela is the mother of eleven with another coming. It's still an egg at the moment; Sofia is the proud mother of eight with four more still as eggs, Rita is the mother of nine with three more still as eggs, and Miguel is the proud father of ten with two more still as eggs. Two or three other of our grown-up kids also have about eight to twelve offspring with one two four more chicks on the way…"

Flabbergast struck the macaws and two cockatoos like a crack of thunder. In fact, the immense flabbergast was so great that some of the macaws including Venus had actually fainted and had to be supported by their friends.

"Your family should be in the Guinness Book of Records one of these days," said Neptune sarcastically as he cradled the fainted Sunset with Travis, "With the most toucans in one family."

"You and some of your kids honestly breed like rabbits," said Saturn, "And it seems that some of your grown-up offspring like to reproduce like mad just like you and Eva like doing."

Then Orquidea glared at the sixteen young additions to Rafael and Eva's kids, making them whimper and hide behind Eva. "Hey, stop glaring at my kids like that," muttered Rafael, "You know they sense fear."

Orquidea, however, was too cross to even care. "And I'd hate to think of any of them with that same desire to breed like mad when they grow up and find mates of their own as well!"

"Hey!" snapped Eva sourly, "If these sixteen want to find mates when they grow up, that's their choice, not yours!"

Then Rafael interrupted and said, "Hey, come on now. Let's not argue about having kids, shall we? Let's talk about something else."

Jupiter, at this, gazed at the still frightened and upset macaw chicks and Eustace, Milo and Rosa before looking back at the toucan couple. "I'm afraid we're off, Raf…"

"Ai, ai, ai, ai," said Rafael, flying around with a wing over Jupiter's shoulder, "You can't just come and see us and then leave like that. You have a lot to tell us. Why don't you stay for a bit longer?"

Jupiter, at this, shot the sixteen kids a glare. The sixteen toucan kids cowered behind Eva.

"Alright," replied Jupiter reluctantly, "But only if those sixteen kids of yours don't misbehave!"

"Then it's settled!" said Rafael ecstatically. He then gazed at the other macaws.

"Come on, you lot, let's talk about your adventures in the Amazon and what you've been doing," he said, "I can't wait to hear about your adventures."

The other macaws and cockatoos let loose a defeated sigh each and reluctantly prepared to perch around Rafael. As they did that, Chiquitita who held Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre in her wings, said to Ultramarine, "You know something? We ought to tell Blu and Jewel about Rafael's son Marco and his mate Anastasia's twenty-two kids when we met them again, and let them know that they are NOT the sort of crowd their three offspring, Carla, Bia and Tiago should get involved with."

"When we return home after chatting with that… patriarch of the massive toucan clan he's got," said Ultramarine slightly scornfully and sarcastically, a sour glare at Rafael, "We're gonna say the same thing to our kids as well."

Chiquitita nodded in agreement. Then the macaw and cockatoo group prepared to discuss their adventures in the Amazon with Rafael and Eva.

 **Meanwhile**

Back in Susan and Lucy's house, Veggie and Dash's families were up to their usual activities. Ginger and Catina had gone out for a walk to have a personal female pet talk, such as Catina's idea of having another litter of kittens, so Dash and Veggie were left to take care of Broccoli, Thomas, Collette and Daisy the grown-up cats, Danny, James, Avellana, Esperanza and Eduarda the puppies and Carla, Bia and Tiago for Blu and Jewel were still out. Tiago was having a game of chess with Danny, Carla was listening to her Ipod while looking after Justin's Ipod, and Bia was reading a maths book. Avellana had her nose in an ecology book, and Esperanza, James, Eduarda, Collette, Broccoli, Thomas and Daisy were having a board game of cats versus dogs: the three greyhound puppies had one counter while the four cats had the other. While the twelve young animals were up to these activities, Dash and Veggie were talking, Veggie with an uncertain look on his face. They were discussing about the same subject as Catina and Ginger will be discussing.

"You've been having that uncertain look for a while now, Veggie," said Dash.

"I know," said Veggie, "I'm thinking about whether to go ahead with having another litter of kittens as our grown-up first litter will be going to other owners anytime soon, which is already beginning to happen. Susan and Lucy had received a call this morning from a customer interested in purchasing one of our two daughters, Collette or Daisy, for breeding purposes."

Dash looked up at Daisy and Collette, the two caliby daughters of Veggie and Catina as they played alongside their brothers against three of Danny's siblings and saw that their days were now numbered. "But because we have bird visitors here," Veggie's voice said, snapping Dash into gazing back at him, "We're not sure of what our second litter of kittens would be like with birds. We might consider limiting our feathered friends' visit if we do go ahead with having another litter of kittens. But if our owners want to sterilise us to prevent us from conceiving any more kittens, then fine but…"

"But what?" asked Dash. Veggie did not reply and just lay down on the floor, an uncertain sigh emitting from his mouth. Dash also sighed and sat down beside his tabby cat friend, before scanning the kitchen and living room, checking the activities of the young cats, dogs and three chicks. Then Tiago's cry of shock sounded, making Dash and Veggie gaze in his direction with smiles of amusement as they saw Danny, a grin on his face, take Tiago's queen piece. Danny's colour was white while Tiago's was black but Tiago had fewer pieces left on the board than Danny.

"Bad move, lil' T," said Danny smugly as he placed the queen into the box with the other taken out chess pieces, "I'm afraid you've lost your best piece."

Tiago sighed. "You're good at this game, dog," he said, "I've not get very many pieces left and my king piece is becoming more vulnerable every second…"

"Then you'll have to practice more to get better at this game, Tiago," said Danny with a smile. Tiago then smiled, determined to try and trap Danny's king piece, which was the aim of the game. He then carefully examined the positions of Danny's pieces to see where to make his next move, his next piece of choice being a bishop, which could only move diagonally. As he did that, Dash and Veggie came over to the pair. The group of animals continued their activities inside Susan and Lucy's house, but the peaceful atmosphere was about to be disturbed. Outside Susan and Lucy's home, another group of animals was approaching the house, heading for the front door and the cat/dog flap designed for the cats and dogs to leave into the garden and return as they pleased. As the group of animals approached this entrance, their shadows (some cat shaped and some bird shaped) creeping sinisterly along the concrete as their owners moved, evil laughs sounded from the group as they got closer to the front door and its cat/dog flap. Back in the house, Veggie and Dash watched Tiago and Danny as Tiago them moved his bishop to a spot of choice, being careful not to land it in a spot where Danny would take it out with one of his pieces. Danny then began to make his move. He began checking each piece and anticipating whether they would be taken out by Tiago's pieces or not, while at the same time planning to place Tiago's king piece into checkmate. Veggie smiled.

"Danny ought to open up a chess club if he keep that up," he said, "He's ever so good at it."

"Chess is a complicated game, I believe," said Dash, "There is a lot of planning, anticipating, and deduction involved. You have to watch your opponent and the placement of your pieces carefully. The last time I played with Danny, I lost my queen piece after carelessly placing it within range of one of his knight pieces."

As he said this, Bia and Avellana came around, having decided to take a break from reading their books.

"How are you doing, Tiago?" asked Bia with a wide smile on her beak. Tiago, a slightly amused and defeated glare on his face, showed Danny's upper hand over him.

"What do you think, sis?" he asked. Bia looked and saw what pieces Tiago had left.

"Two pawns, a bishop, the king piece, and two rooks?" she said, "You have lost a lot of pieces."

"I've just lost my queen piece," muttered Tiago much to the amused titters of those watching him. Then Bia began to examine the position of the pieces on the chessboard and, with her intelligence, began to quote the position of the pieces on the board consisting of a letter and a number. Veggie managed to stifle a laugh.

"Bia and her intelligence honestly," he snickered. Dash was about to reply when suddenly, something sounded from through the door to the hallway. It was the sound of flapping, like from a piece of plastic. However, the flapping sounds were accompanied by aggressive struggles and grumbles. At this, the group whipped round and faced the door to the hallway and listened.

"What's that?" asked Avellana alertly.

"Is that Catina and Ginger?" asked Broccoli, "Sounds like they are struggling with the cat/dog flap, especially Ginger since she is sometimes moody due to being pregnant with that second litter of pups."

Dash trotted toward the hallway door and pricked an ear against it to listen. He had hoped that Broccoli's guess was true but when he had listened closely to the sounds emanating from the front door, he realised that the sounds and voices were totally different from Ginger and Catina's voices. Furthermore, the sounds indicated the presence of _more_ than two animals. Struck with dread, Dash quickly went over to the door's opening side and gently opened a crack in it to observe who was trying to force their way in. The others came up behind him. Carla, Bia and Tiago timidly followed.

"What can you see Mr Dash?" asked Carla timidly, her Ipod held close to her.

"Are Mrs Ginger and Mrs Catina back?" asked Bia. Tiago just said nothing but had the same hope written on his face. But nothing could prepare them, nor Eduarda, Avellana, Esperanza, James and Danny, and Broccoli, Collette, Daisy and Thomas, for Dash's next reaction and facial expression. The male light grey greyhound snapped his head back around as though he had been stung in the nose by a bee and shot the others a horrified glare.

"We've got intruders," he spat immediately, "Hide yourselves QUICK!"

The moment these words escaped his mouth, panic exploded within the young cats, dogs and three Spix macaw chicks and they scattered everywhere to look for somewhere to hide, screaming and howling in utter fright. Seeing the pandemonium spiral out of control and aware of the intruders lurking in the downstairs hall, Dash and Veggie tried to get the five panicking greyhound puppies, four adult kittens and three Spix macaws under control, but it was proving very difficult for their screeching had already attracted the intruders' attention…

 **Meanwhile**

Back out in the jungle, Jupiter and his group were flying back to Susan and Lucy's house. None of the macaws looked very happy at all, and Jupiter particularly looked very grumpy. While Jupiter's group flew back in the direction of Susan and Lucy's house, two more Spix macaws were about to join them. Blu and Jewel were also heading back to Susan and Lucy's house after their mock foraging trip, to pick up Carla, Bia and Tiago and then head back to their birdhouse near Tulio and Linda's cottage. As the couple glided and flapped along, Jewel wore an impressed look on her face as she looked at Blu but at the same time, she also had a hint of sternness thrown in there.

"You have done well, Blu," she said, "You see, you know how to forage for fruit. This is what I want you to do from now on."

"But Jewel?" asked Blu, "What about the occasional human food treats?"

"None of Jupiter's group likes truly human food, Blu," said Jewel firmly, "And they are against their chicks eating it for fear that they might become ill. Remember Uranus's experience of eating a piece of pancake and its consequences that he told us about."

Blu sighed as Jupiter's description of the consequences Uranus faced after sampling a piece of a pancake repeated in his mind. Blu had been very surprised at how close Jupiter and his group's domestic lifestyle had been to a wild parrot or cockatoo when they lived in London, the UK, unlike his which had been rather human-like when he lived in Minnesota, the US. However, that lifestyle was becoming somewhat alien to Blu now, and he couldn't even believe that he had been flightless for the entire time. Pluto would have been like that too but he had learned to fly around two years after he had been purchased for Blake, Drake and Jake when he had been an adolescent chick, whereas Venus and Mercury already knew how to fly before they were captured and smuggled out of Rio to England. As for Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, and Mars, their origins including where they had been born were rather mysterious but they kept claiming that they had been born in the UK through breeding and aviculture centres and then sold to Susan and company as chicks. But based on their quick adaptation to the wild and their apparent sense of familiarity with trees and flying through them which was more pronounced in Ceres and Jupiter, Blu had begun to assume that those six macaws, like Pluto, Venus and Mercury, must have been captured and smuggled out of Brazil or some other place in South America as chicks as well, and that something drastic must have happened during the journey that erased any possible memories of their birthplaces. It was possible that the truth of Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Cere's true origins would soon be found out.

As Blu and Jewel flew along, Blu registering Jewel's firm statement about feeding their chicks and those of Jupiter and company artificially prepared fruit and nuts (like tinned fruit and nuts) or other human food, he and Jewel looked up and saw a colourful flock of macaws and cockatoos emerge from a cluster of trees.

"Wow, Jupiter and company," said Jewel with a smile. She then began to catch up to them. "Hew, Jupiter, Travis, the rest of you! How did your meeting with Rafael and Eva go?"

Blu flapped his wings faster to keep up with his mate but since he was still inexperienced at flying, he was a bit slow. Jewel flew alongside Jupiter but when she saw the downcast look on his face and that on the faces of the other adults, her face fell. Jupiter grumpily eyed Jewel and Blu as they flew alongside him.

"Hi, Blu and Jewel," he said grumpily as through he was bothered by a small storm cloud constantly hovering over his head and throwing rain down on him. Saturn, Ruby and Orquidea, who flew alongside Jupiter with their chicks, Io who rode on Ruby's back, her eyes still flooded with tears as she looked over the remains of her smashed Ipod, and Europa, Ganymede and Callisto who flew alongside their mother, and Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus who flew around their parents, also had downcast looks also plastered on their faces, and that look was shared amongst the other families as well, including Travis and his mixed family.

"Has something happened?" asked Jewel. Blu didn't say anything but he was disturbed by the looks on his friends' faces. Jupiter then shot Jewel a grumpy look.

"Our talk with Rafael and Eva went well, thanks," he said, "But before we met them, we had a serious encounter and assault from a flock of toucan kids."

"And Rafael and Eva's new sixteen weren't the only ones to attack us," said Saturn, "The offspring of one of Rafael's sons Marco were also there."

"Yes," growled Ruby, "They jumped up and down on us like trampolines, tore feathers out of Zephyr's head, shot seeds or threw acai berries at us and our chicks, and one of them destroyed Io's Ipod!"

At this, Blu and Jewel looked at Io as she continued weeping over her destroyed Ipod. Then Venus said, "And you won't believe how many grandkids Rafael and Eva told us they had."

"What's that?" asked Jewel.

"Around eight of them including Marco have more than ten kids each," snapped Zephyr bitterly. Blu and Jewel flinched in utter shock.

"You can't be serious," said Blu with a frown, "By my calculations, that would come to… around eighty grandkids at least."

"Those toucans, not only do they seem to allow their kids to get up to over-the-top mischief," muttered Mercury, shooting a glance at Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette to make sure that they didn't wander off, "They seem to go mad with having more of them as well."

"And I must tell you this, Blu and Jewel," said Sapphire seriously. The couple looked at her.

"And what's that?" asked Blu.

"You must not allow Carla, Bia and Tiago to get involved with that lot, certainly not Marco's offspring," said Sapphire.

"Absolutely," said Pluto, "You remember what happened the last time they mixed with Rafael and Eva's first lot."

"Marco refused to believe how naughty his chicks are," said Mercury, still obviously disgusted at Marco and Anastasia's refusal to discipline their offspring or admit the sheer naughtiness of their chicks.

"They were on the verge of being bullies," added Mars, "I'd hate to think of when they grow up."

It was true. If Marco and Anastasia did not discipline their many offspring, it was likely that they would grow up to become troublesome toucans. And the likelihood of the offspring of some of Rafael and Eva's seven or eight other grown-up kids, such as Rita, Sofia and Manoela, being as naughty as their cousins and growing up into hoodlum toucans made Mars shudder like a leaf, though he knew that many of Rafael and Eva's kids had grown out of their troublemaking antics to become respectful adult toucans. Then Blu said, "Well, thanks for letting us know about the behaviour of Marco's chicks. We'll keep that in mind when we allow Carla, Bia and Tiago out to play with the other chicks in the coming weeks while we're here in Rio for the summer. Anyway, let's get back to Susan and Lucy's house. We've gotta pick them up."

Jupiter and company nodded and then the group continued flying through the jungle in the direction of Susan and Lucy's house. However, they were in for a nasty shock. As the house finally emerged into view, Jupiter and Ruby stopped into a dead hover. Behind them, Blu, Jewel, Saturn and Orquidea flew in.

"What is it, you two?" asked Saturn when he saw the horrified and dreaded looks on the scarlet macaws' faces but when he saw what they saw, a sharp breath entered his lungs and his face morphed into the same dreaded look. The other macaws and Travis and Sunset also flew in and hovered, shocked looks on their faces as well. The group's eyes were on the front door, specifically the cat/dog flap, but the flap looked badly damaged with the door torn from its hinges. That was definitely not Catina or Ginger's doing for they would never tear a flap from its hinges like that. Something has intruded into Susan and Lucy's house, something that wasn't good.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13- captured!**

"I hope it's not what I think it is," said Saturn worriedly. Then thoughts about Carla, Bia and Tiago sparked inside Jewel and Blu's minds and they instantly made a beeline for the open window, the same window the group sometimes used to enter or exit the house. The other birds followed and when they were at the window, they all entered the house a few at a time. Once the birds were inside, they were all met with a disaster zone. Gasps were drawn in through their beaks and eyes were widened in horror as they saw the state of the kitchen and living room.

"Good GRIEF!" shouted Jupiter, his orange-red feathers puffed out and brown eyes swollen with horror as though he had seen a ghost. Blu and Jewel then left to search the place for their three chicks, calling their names. The kitchen and living room looked as though an enormous beast with sharp claws had gone on a rampage through them. The wallpaper, carpets and the sofa and both armchairs were slashed with numerous gashes crisscrossing in various places, with the paper or fabric lying in tatters from the edges of the gash marks. More pieces of fabric or paper lie on the floor. The cushions looked like a dog had gone savagely mad with them: they lie on the floor in tatters, their covering torn and their interiors gutted with fluff scattered around the main mauled bulk of the cushions like the feathers of a white chicken. The vases lay in broken fragments by the hearth of the electric fireplace while the picture frames that hung on the walls lay on the floor, glass shards lying everywhere and the pictures within the frames fallen out and lying somewhere beside their holders. By the sink and the cupboards, several plates and cups lie on the floor in fragments, and two of the cupboard doors were partly pulled from one of their hinges, so the doors hung obliquely from their holes. Another cupboard door looked like it had been completely torn off, as it lay as a slab of wood before another uncovered cupboard, the contents of plates and baking equipment lie scattered either on the floor in front of the door-less cupboard beside the slab of wood or untidily inside the cupboard. The drawers also looked like they had been pulled out and they, along with their contents consisting of cutlery, two rolling pins and cooking utensils like wooden spoons lay scattered all over the kitchen floor like confetti at a party. In one corner, a pet food bag was torn open, and food pellets lie all over the floor around it, and the bins were overturned, their contents discarded by Susan and Lucy spilled onto the floor like more confetti and other party paper. Like on the wallpaper, sofa and chairs, gashes marked the plastic of the bag. By the TV, DVDs and ornaments lay scattered all over the floor or overturned. The other birds paced slowly into the bombsite lookalike rooms, their brains becoming overloaded with the carnage that lay before their eyes.

"Susan and Lucy are gonna go berserk when they see this," murmured Travis, his yellow crest raised. Eustace, Milo and Rosa, eyes filled with fright and crests also raised with the blended bands showing their hybrid inheritance from both Travis and Sunset's species fully exposed, hugged close to their sulfur-crested father. Sunset then spotted some dashes of black and white pieces lying on the floor behind the ruined sofa. At this, she walked over to them to examine the pieces closely. They were chess pieces, and they looked like they had been scattered during whatever went on here.

"Looks like Danny must have been seriously disturbed by something," she said, "Alongside everyone else."

Then Jupiter began to call for Veggie and Dash, looking for them and the other nine around the rooms.

"Veggie, Dash," he shouted. Mercury, Zephyr, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Cobalto joined in, leaving the mothers to look after the chicks.

"Broccoli, Thomas!" called Zephyr, looking around the tattered armchairs.

"Danny, James," called Mercury as he looked around the almost-decimated cupboards. He then paused briefly to examine the gashes in the plastic of the pet food bag. Nearby, Mars and Saturn were looking into the overturned bins.

"Collette, Daisy," called Mars.

"Avellana, Esperanza, Eduarda," shouted Saturn. Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Mars and Cobalto were flying around the rooms, also shouting the cats' and dogs' names. The mothers and Travis looked on.

"Have you found Carla, Bia and Tiago yet, Blu and Jewel?" asked Venus, her wings around Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil who were frightened. Blu and Jewel looked at her from behind the back part of the sofa, sombre and stressed looks on their faces.

"No," said Blu.

"We can't find them anywhere!" replied Jewel in a voice similar to the sound of splintering ice. She clearly looked flustered and was hoping that none of her chicks were hurt. While she continued looking for her two daughters and son with Blu, panic slowly taking over, Zephyr looked around by the windows when he saw a pile of shiny pieces. At this, he flew over to it and touched down beside the pile to examine them closer. One of the pieces was a metallic purple slab. Purple was Carla's favourite colour. The moment Zephyr recognised the piece as being from Carla's Ipod, which lay in smithereens like Io's Ipod, he called the Ipod's owner's parents.

"Blu, Jewel," Zephyr cried and showed them the metallic purple slab. "It's a piece of Carla's Ipod."

At this, Blu and Jewel flew over to Zephyr and examined the shiny purple covering, along with the other pieces. Justin's Ipod, which was metallic blue, also lay in pieces, but all three Spix macaws' attention was on the metallic purple one for it belonged to one of Blu and Jewel's missing chicks. While the three Spix macaws continued examining the demolished Ipod, Ceres, who had Wilbur, Aurelio and Azul huddled close to her, saw a flash of colour out of the corner of her eye. At this, she turned and saw some blue dashes lying next to one of the torn carpets. Compelled by curiosity, she walked over to the blue dashes.

"What is it, Mom?" asked Aurelio as he and his two brothers followed. Ceres did not reply and began to examine the blue things up close. The blue dashes were feathers, all shed from young Spix macaws based on their size. Some were cerulean while the remaining few were blue like Blu and Zephyr's feathers. At first, Ceres thought that the feathers were moulted feathers from one or more of Zephyr and Venus's chicks but then she realised that these had been freshly shed. There was only brood of chicks that had been here at the time these had been shed, but Ceres flinched as the shed feathers' owners came to mind. Then Ceres eyes' caught another flash of colour, making her look at those flashes, which turned out to be more feathers. However these feathers were of some colours that none of the other birds here, apart from Travis, possessed in their plumage. Some of the feathers were slate grey, a few were greyish white and a few other feathers were black. Ceres felt puzzlement overtake her. None of the macaws had black or slate grey feathers, and the grey-white feathers were too tatty and ragged to be from Travis, for his white feathers were almost pure white with the occasional splash of yellow marking them, and silkier and softer. Then Ceres picked up one of the slate grey feather and examined it closely. She ran a talon through it to get a better feel of its texture. It was firm, and certainly did not originate from a parrot. While Ceres continued examining this feather, Aurelio, Azul and Wilbur came across some thin filaments lying on the bare pale beige colour of the kitchen floor. At this, the three brothers examined them closely and realised that they were cat hairs.

"Mom, we found some cat hairs," called Azul. Ceres, at this, dropped the slate grey feather and flew over to her sons.

"What have you found, boys?" she asked. Aurelio, Azul and Wilbur stepped aside and allowed Ceres to examine the hairs. As Ceres looked at the hairs up close, she realised that some of them were black, some were pure white and some were grey. She was struck with puzzlement once again. Thomas, Veggie and Broccoli had black, ginger and brown hair while Catina had white fur with black and ginger blotches, and Daisy and Collette the caliby sisters had a mix of Veggie and Catina's traits. Furthermore, Dash, James and Esperanza had light grey hair, and Ginger, Avellana, Danny and Eduarda had ginger coloured fur, though Avellana's fur was more chestnut coloured. None of the cats and dogs, however, had all-black or white fur and certainly not dark grey fur for some of the hairs were dark grey. Dash, James and Esperanza's fur were light grey, almost white but not snow white like the majority of Travis's plumage. While Ceres continued examining the fur, Jupiter walked in.

"What have you found, Ceres?" he asked. Ceres handed him a few hairs and then a slate grey feather.

"A few feathers and fur, Jupiter," she said. Jupiter took them and examined them while the others came around. Blu and Jewel had also noticed the odd feathers and had come to examine them. It was definite that the slate grey, the black and the grey-white feathers, and some of the cat hairs did not belong here. Based on this information, and the serious carnage of the kitchen and living room, intruders had definitely been in here. The claw marks slashing through the fabric or paper of the wallpaper, armchairs, sofa and carpets appeared to be from cats, but not from Veggie or his four former kittens, for they would never be so destructive, but other claw marks originated from another animal based on the slightly different patterns of the gashes. And also based on the overturned bins, shattered picture frames, vases, plates and scattered cutlery and drawers, chaos had definitely taken place, but it wouldn't have been a pretty sight. Jewel then examined a ragged grey-white feather, holding it in a talon while Blu examined the blue young macaw feathers. When he recognised the feathers' owners, he shuddered. Mars and Chiquitita got a glimpse of the grey-white feather in Jewel's talon.

"That feather looks like one of Travis's moulted feathers," Mars said.

"Only Travis's feathers are white as snow with the occasional spot of yellow, and not as tatty as that one," said Chiquitita. At this, Travis looked at his own wing flight feathers and then at the feather in Jewel's talon.

"That must be from an older sulfur-crested cockatoo," he said, "I'm too young to have grey in my white feathers at the moment."

Blu then examined the grey and black feathers and managed to identify the species from which they had come from. But as the two species of bird entered his mind, he flinched.

"What is it, Blu?" asked Venus. Blu looked at her and showed her a black feather and a grey feather.

"These two feathers are not from a species of parrot," he said, "Certainly not from Ónix the red-tailed black cockatoo or Gris the African grey parrot from down the street. This grey feather is too ragged and dark a grey coloured to be from an African grey parrot, anyway."

Then Venus and Mercury looked at the grey-white feather in Jewel's talon. Jewel continued glaring at the feather as recognition began to bubble within her. However, along with the recognition of the feather's owner, came a toxic concoction of negative emotions, among them hatred, anger and vengefulness, and Mercury and Venus could see those emotions fester in Jewel through her change in facial expression from worry to a scowl, along with the raising of her cerulean feathers, like infection festering in a contaminated wound based on its colour change. Then Jewel began to shake as the festering emotions began to fully manifest themselves. While she continued glaring at the feather in rage, Ruby heard the sounds of faint whimpering emanating through the door to the hallway. At this, she turned and walked towards the door that was opened slightly, took hold of the door with a talon and peered through it. Jewel and Blu then turned and saw Ruby look through the door.

"Ruby?" asked Jewel, all rage and hatred faded and replaced by curiosity for now. At this, the others turned and saw Ruby then walk through the door. Blu, Jewel, Zephyr, Jupiter, Travis and Chiquitita followed while the rest continued surveying the damage in the kitchen and living room. Ruby then noticed a blue form in the middle of the downstairs hall, quivering like a leaf and whimpering timidly. The blue form was a macaw like Blu and Zephyr, and it had blue feathers, brown eyes and a black beak and feet. At this, Ruby immediately recognised the Spix macaw chick and rushed towards it, the other six with her following.

"Tiago!" she called. At this, Tiago, his brown eyes overflowing with immense fear and terror, turned and looked up at the two scarlet macaws, three Spix macaws, diminutive green-winged macaw and sulfur-crested cockatoo approach him and then stop in front of him, their faces riddled with concern and worry.

"Where are your sisters Carla and Bia?" asked Jupiter.

"And Veggie and Dash, and the others," added Travis. Tiago, however, remained silent and didn't reply. Then before Blu and Jewel could step forward to scoop him up into a hug, a scornful and dreary voice scoffed, "Well, well, well, look who's here!"

Shock exploded through the seven macaws and cockatoo, making them flinch while Tiago screamed briefly in fright. At this, Jupiter, Ruby, Blu and Jewel looked up and saw a grey-white figure with a tattered pale yellow crest, black beak, and scorn-filled brown eyes with sickly looking bags under them, and a green and yellow vest worn around his torso stride in like a triumphant hunter.

"Hello, pretty birds," crooned the wicked bird, his eyes fixed particularly on Blu and Jewel. The moment Jewel's eyes landed on the cockatoo and recognition took hold, pure hatred and rage exploded within her like an acidic volcano.

"NIGEL, you FILTHY…" she screeched but then something grabbed hold of her wings before she could lash at the cockatoo, which was Nigel. Then Blu, Jupiter, Ruby, Chiquitita and Travis felt something latch onto them and restrain them. At this, they looked around and to their utter horror, their capturers were cats, and they had their paws latched onto their wings, and among the cats was the black and white face of Otis who had his paws firmly clutched onto one of Jewel's wings. All the cats wore the exact same scornful looks on their faces as Nigel. However, the cats weren't alone. Another type of creature, a black bird but not a parrot, were with the cats as well, their talons latched onto the wings of the macaws and Travis. These crows also had the same scornful looks on their faces as if to say, 'Gotchya!'

Then screeches erupted behind the seven macaws. At this, the seven whipped round and to their horror, the other macaws; Sunset and Eustace, Milo and Rosa had been captured by more cats, crows and… falcons!? 'Oh, no, please, not those dangerous birds of prey,' thought Travis but his eyes weren't deceiving him. There clearly were falcons, six of them in fact, among the other group of cats and crows, and horror exploded within Travis and Zephyr when they saw that Venus, Sunset and their chicks Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil, Eustace, Milo and Rosa were held captive by three of them. The chicks were extremely scared, and the adults looked stunned. Zephyr tried to fly at his family and friends but the crows and cats, among them Moggy, kept a firm grip on his wings and prevented him from doing so. Then when Mercury and Venus saw Nigel and recognised him, panic flared within them like a flammable gas coming into contact with a naked flame. Their heart-rates accelerated and their breathing became irregular and fast.

"Mercury, Venus, try to keep calm," cried Blu but the stress of seeing Nigel was too much for the two macaws. As Venus gazed at the wicked cockatoo who gazed back at her with an extremely sadistic and scornful look on his face, flashbacks violently erupted within her mind, and she began to whimper and tremble, and look away. The falcon named Cazador kept a firm grip on her. Nigel then smiled evilly at Venus and Mercury as they writhed in Cazador and a few of the cats' struggles. Sapphire, who was being restrained by three crows and her chicks Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette being held firmly by Tom, one of the cats, looked on in horror.

"I recognise you two," Nigel crooned, but then Zephyr's furious screech violently broke through his fixation on the terrified pigtailed Spix macaw and male Lear's macaw. The male Spix macaw then scooped up Tiago with a talon, pulled him away from the sickly, deranged cockatoo and then wrap his wings around the terrified chick, making Nigel turn his attention to the first group, his eyes on the terrified little male chick.

"It sure is fun seein' little chickies in utter fear," he crooned, "I remember those two macaws (referring to Mercury and Venus) being extremely scared of me when they were his age."

Jewel, at this, violently struggled free of Otis and another cat, the male all-black one's paws and lashed at Nigel. She jumped up and slashed her claws across the cockatoo's face, making Nigel throw his head in the direction of the attack as Jewel's claws inflicted two scratches on his right cheek, with a little blood drawn in the process. Jewel then prepared to jump onto Nigel, her teal eyes blazing with the bitterest hatred and rage Jupiter and the others had ever seen.

"Jewel, DON'T!" Jupiter called, his wings pinned by three crows and two cats. Then Otis and the black cat rushed in, hooked their claws onto Jewel's wings and pulled her back. Jewel continued hissing and screeching like a fierce cat as Nigel looked up and placed a wing on the scratch on his right cheek. A few drops of blood dripped from the claw marks Jewel had given him.

"Where are Carla and Bia, and Dash, Veggie and the kittens and puppies!?" demanded Jupiter angrily, "WHERE ARE THEY!?"

Zephyr protectively held Tiago away from Nigel as he eyed the vermillion scarlet macaw before answering. Blu looked on bitterly. Like Jewel, he burned with pure hatred and anger, and wanted to claw the disgusting cockatoo's face in.

"You mean the two little blue girl chicks, the scrawny brown-eyed one and the fat green-eyed one?" replied Nigel spitefully, looking at the fresh blood on his tattered grey-white feathers. He was completely unfazed by the pain emanating from Jewel's scratch on his cheek and continued boring into his enemies with brown eyes ablaze with scorn. "They're… locked in a cage, as are some of those cats and dogs includin' that tabby cat and the mate of the calico called Catina."

"How did you find us!?" shouted Travis, his yellow crest fully raised. Nigel didn't answer the younger sulfur-crested cockatoo and eyed Tiago who was hidden in Zephyr's wings. Nigel nodded to two of the cats standing beside the first group, a male white Persian and a female grey and black striped cat named Adriana.

"Seize that little blue chick and put him with his sisters," commanded Nigel, a point of a tattered wing feather at Tiago in Zephyr's wings. The two cats nodded obediently and walked towards Zephyr without hesitation. Blu and Jewel squirmed viciously to lash at the two cats but with the iron paw and talon grip from their feline and corvid captors firmly on their wings, they couldn't move. Then the sounds of wailing and whimpering erupted from a little male chick's beak, alongside the angry protests of an adult male Spix macaw, as the white Persian cat pried Zephyr's wings apart and Adriana seized Tiago. The sounds of Tiago's distressed cries as he called for Zephyr, Blu and Jewel were sweet music to Nigel's ears, and he looked on scornfully and smugly as he saw Adriana then carry the squirming and terrified Tiago away, much to Blu and Jewel's furious glares and screeches, and futile attempts to break free and rescue their son. Behind the group, Cazador had commanded a number of other crows, those that didn't hold a macaw, to fly off to get some cages. Then as Adriana left for upstairs with Tiago helplessly wailing for his parents in her paw, Nigel smiled wickedly.

"You know, when we captured that little blue brat's sisters," he scornfully said, "I had to give them a good-hiding to get them to shut up. Not to mention teach one of them greyhounds and cats a lesson."

As he said this, dread hit the macaws and cockatoos, especially Blu and Jewel.

"Oh, no, don't tell me you've…" began Travis but then he flinched as Nigel's brown scorn-burning eyes pierced him.

"Yup, I gave those two little girl chicks an extremely scary fright," he crooned, "By shovin' my face up against their cage and screeching as loud as I could, my crest raised and my eyes bulging. As for the naughty greyhound and cat I attacked, their lesson was more physical."

He refused to mention what he had done to that greyhound and cat and which one he had done the 'punishment' to, but an idea had already entered some of the macaws' heads, especially Jupiter, and idea they didn't like. That 'punishment' Nigel had shamelessly boasted he had inflicted on the greyhound and cat sounded more than just a mere smack or a punch of a talon. Then Nigel laughed maniacally.

"It was funny seeing those two little daughters of yours two react in extreme fright when Nigel gave them the scare," crooned Otis into Jewel's ear. Ruby shot the black and white cat a glare.

"You know you're playing with fire, you sickly alley cat," she growled. Otis just shot her an evil smirk while Jewel trembled with bitter fury. Then Nigel said, "Oh, fear in my most detested creatures on planet Earth. It sure is an entertaining thing to watch, and certainly candy for my evil eyes."

He then glared at Blu, Jewel and Zephyr and added, "Especially if it is from my most…" he paced towards the three Spix macaws, the fire of hatred in his eyes blazing higher as they bore into them and the closer he got. His voice tone also morphed from a scornful croon into a bitter growl, "… detested… blue-feathered… scum of the earth, the Spix macaw."

He then eyed Blu, bitter detestation boiling like a pot full of acid. However, Jewel's own pot full of acid was about to boil as well.

"You know something, Nigel," she crooned sarcastically, turning Nigel's attention from Blu to her, "You sure like to see exotic birds in utter pain, don't you?"

Otis kept a firm grip on Jewel's wing with the black cat, wary of her boiling temper.

"You're nothing without the entertainment you get from the abuse and torture you give your captured 'pretty bird' victims, don't you?" crooned Jewel scornfully. But then she finally let her acidic volcano erupt and explode as she lost control of her temper, and her voice tone changed from scornful sarcasm to one sounding like a raging conflagration. "You're nothing but a DISGUSTING…"

And with that, a torrent of highly corrosive, vitriolic set of words, threats and comments came spewing out of Jewel's beak and she directed her spray of acid, which was far more corrosive than any acid Blu had known or come across, straight into the face of her most detested cockatoo on the planet. The words were so disgusting and caustic that it sent shock exploding through the audience, including Otis and his gang, and the falcons including Cazador. Blu looked on in horror. He had never known his mate be so foulmouthed in his life, and Zephyr, Ruby and Chiquitita could not believe the acidic music they were hearing but Ruby and Chiquitita were totally glad that Jewel did not say anything like THAT to them or any of the red macaws when their tribe and the Spix macaw tribe had been enemies. But Jewel's enmity of Nigel was ten times worse than her former hatred of the red macaw tribe, especially Ruby and Chiquitita at the time, had ever been. As Jewel continued spewing her torrent of vitriolic liquid of words at Nigel, Jupiter, his brown eyes wide with shock and disgust, raised his restrained wings and covered his ears to block out the music. Some of the cats and the crows also did the same, as did the chicks of Jupiter and company. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto, Sunset, Sapphire, Zephyr, Orquidea, Esmeralda, Ultramarine, Cobalto and Lapis Lazuli flinched and winced at every vitriolic word, comment or threat Jewel hurled at Nigel. Then after another minute of spraying her more-corrosive-than-pure-sulfuric acid words at the ugly cockatoo, Jewel struggled furiously in Otis and the black cat's paws, desperate to break free and savagely sink her beak and claws into Nigel's flesh. Then Nigel shot Jewel an extremely bitter glare, his crest raised and retorted with a spray of extremely vitriolic words of his own, before lashing at Jewel and was about to slash her face with a talon but Jupiter intervened, raised a foot and kicked him in the stomach.

"DON'T YOU DARE HARM THAT SPIX MACAW, YOU BRUTE!" he bellowed in a booming voice as Nigel fell over backwards, "DON'T YA DARE!"

Nigel, at this, shot Jupiter a poisonous glare before Cazador finally took control.

"That's enough of fighting with our captured victims," he barked, "Let's get these birds caged before anyone else gets hurt!"

Then as if on cue, the crows Cazador had sent to fetch the cages finally turned up, around a dozen of empty cages in their talons. Then as soon as they had prepared their cages, the macaws and cockatoos were tossed into them. Mars, Chiquitita, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre were shoved into one, Jupiter, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto were shoved into a second, then Saturn, Orquidea, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus were tossed into a third, Esmeralda, Uranus, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon into a fourth, Neptune, Ultramarine, Triton and Charon into a fifth, particularly large one, but too small to accommodate a family of hyacinth macaws; Ceres and Cobalto, together with Wilbur, Aurelio and Azul were thrown into a sixth, then Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Charon, Blueberry, Flor and Quincy were thrown into a seventh, Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa were chucked into an eighth, and Blu and Jewel were thrown into a ninth. As the crows and cats prepared to throw Mercury and Venus's families into two more cages, Nigel commanded, "Wait, put the pigtailed female Spix macaw and the male grey-eyed Lear's macaw each into a cage of their own."

"What are you doing?" asked Cazador but Nigel didn't reply as the cats and crows shoved Zephyr, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil into one cage, Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette into another cage, and Venus and Mercury into their own cages each. Each time a group of birds were thrown into a cage, a cat or crow slammed shut the cage door and padlocked it. Once this was done, Cazador commanded the cats and crows to take the now-caged birds up into the attic, which they did. As the crows and the cats carried the caged birds upstairs in the attic's entrance direction, Jewel spat a glob of saliva right into Nigel's face as she and Blu were carried past by three of the crows, making Nigel flinch and his temper flare, but before he could lash at Jewel, Cazador stopped him.

"We don't want any of those macaws hurt," he said, "Certainly not any of the Spix, the glaucous and the Lear's macaws, now control your temper or you'll be evicted!"

Nigel, at this, reluctantly obeyed but he maintained a toxic, acidic glare at Jewel, whose glare back was no different, as she and Blu were carried in their cage upstairs. As the caged birds were carried to the top of the stairs, Saturn bitterly asked Otis, "How did you find this house!?"

Otis shot the male blue-and-gold macaw a smug glare. "Ah, you'll have to ask that to one of our new falcon friends, you blue and yellow gold nugget," he crooned. Saturn winced as Otis called him the exact same description the infamously violent cat used to call his captured birds when he was alive. Then Swoop, another falcon flew in and landed beside Saturn and his family, Orquidea wrapping her wings around Mimas and her six siblings who were extremely scared.

"To answer your question, blue and yellow feathers," crooned Swoop, "I have been sent out to spy on you to find out where you live, and then I led these other animals to the place and captured your friends."

"We intended to capture that family of five Spix macaws first," said Bryony wickedly, her piercing eyes glanced briefly at the enraged Blu and Jewel, "But when we found out that they weren't there, we flew to this house instead. We captured their chicks and some of those cats and dogs who attempted to interfere and now they're waiting for you in the attic. We'll explain more when we put you guys up there."

Saturn just shot the female falcon a bitter glare as Bryony laughed slightly. However, he was concerned for the cat and greyhound that Nigel had remorselessly mentioned about inflicting a 'punishment', but he'd dread to think what sort of punishment the sickly cockatoo had given those two. Then as soon as the evil animal group had reached the steps leading to the trapdoor and the attic, the cats, falcons and crows carried the cages up the stairs and into the attic, Cazador, Nigel, Otis and Cometa looking on. The first three wore smug looks, but the fourth looked remorseful, especially as she saw the frightened looks on the chicks and lone Mercury and Venus's faces. She also felt remorseful at the state of the kitchen and living room her group had turned it into during the chaos that went on between them, Veggie, Dash, the four adult kittens, the five adolescent puppies, and Carla, Bia and Tiago. Then as the macaws and cockatoos found themselves in the attic and placed in a neat row by their capturers, familiar voices erupted from behind them.

"Jupiter, Saturn, guys!" cried one, Veggie's. At this, the macaws, Travis and his family turned round and to their horror and relief, they saw Veggie and his group, each in a cage of their own. All five cats were present but three of the greyhounds were missing, as Esperanza, Eduarda and Danny were the only ones present. All five cats and the three greyhounds present were covered in a few cuts and bruises, obviously from the skirmish with the intruders, but Broccoli and Eduarda looked like they were in pain. In one corner, Carla, Bia and Tiago who were unmarked and were huddled together in their own cage, trembling with immense fright, also saw their parents and friends as they were loaded into the attic, but they were too frightened to speak, especially at the sight of Nigel. Collette, one of Veggie's daughters, widened her eyes in horror when she saw who was among the caged macaws.

"Blu and Jewel!" she cried. Blu and Jewel just shot her an indignant glare and said nothing. The other birds looked on but when their eyes, especially Jupiter and Saturn's, landed on Broccoli and Eduarda, who looked in the most serious pain of the group and holding a certain part of their body. Broccoli was clasping his left front paw, his face twisted in agony, and Jupiter was alarmed to see that a little bit of blood was oozing from his paw. Beside Broccoli, Eduarda was clasping her side, which looked like it had been scratched. Like Broccoli's paw, her scratch was bleeding and the greyhound girl's face was twisted in pain as well. As Saturn and his family's cage was placed near Veggie, the infuriated blue-and-gold macaw shot Nigel as he helped two of the cats carry Mars and his family's cage into the attic a furious glare.

"What did you do to Broccoli and Eduarda over there?" he barked. Nigel just gave Saturn the silent treatment and continued helping his allies. Then Veggie decided to do the explaining. He winced from the pain of his small cuts and bruises as he walked over to the part of his cage nearest to Saturn and his family's cage.

"We were suddenly attacked by those intruders," Veggie said, "The moment Dash mentioned that we had intruders in the house, everyone including Carla, Bia and Tiago scattered and began to panic, and when we tried to calm everyone down, before we knew it, we were set upon by a group of cats and crows and everything erupted into total anarchy. Things were made worse when that foul cockatoo, the same one Catina and I had encountered in the streets the other day, made his appearance."

Saturn and Orquidea immediately knew that Veggie was referring to Nigel. "Anyway," the tabby cat continued, "During the chaos, we were captured and caged a few at a time. Dash, Avellana and James, however, had managed to make their escape while we tried rescuing Carla, Bia and Tiago but to no avail. Nigel over there was trying to catch those three but Broccoli and Eduarda came to their defence; Broccoli had tried carrying Carla, Bia and Tiago away while Eduarda fought Nigel to keep him at bay but Nigel slashed her right side with a talon before going after Broccoli who had Blu and Jewel's chicks."

"That was where I got bitten by that foul cockatoo," explained Broccoli, turning Saturn and his family's eyes in his direction. He still held his bitten paw which was still bleeding. "Nigel demanded that I hand over Carla, Bia and Tiago so that he could cage them but when I refused, he lashed out and attacked me to force me into releasing the chicks. When I fought back, Nigel bit my paw hard and the next thing I knew, I was caged while Carla and Bia were caught and caged as well. Tiago, however, had managed to make his escape but as I can see," he nodded in Carla, Bia and Tiago's direction, "he's been captured and caged as well."

"Did I just hear what Nigel just did to you, Broc?" growled Blu nearby angrily, him and Jewel looking on and had been listening to Veggie and Broccoli's explanation of what had happened. "Nigel attacked you and Eduarda?"

Broccoli, his eyes flooded with painful tears, nodded and confirmed it by showing them his still-bleeding paw. Then Jewel began to burn in anger again.

"When I get out of this cage, I'm gonna FLAY that COCKATOO!" she screeched.

"Jewel, STOP IT!" yelled Saturn but Jewel, who was too blinded by her temper, began to violently throw her body against the padlocked cage door, shaking the cage and tripping Blu over.

"SNAP OUT OF IT, JEWEL!" bellowed Saturn at the top of his voice.

"Yeah, snap out of it," shouted Orquidea in agreement, "You've been allowing your temper to get the better of you enough as it is!"

Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus whimpered in their mother's wings as Jewel continued smashing herself against the cage door, not caring about the unwanted attention she was drawing to herself. When Saturn looked up and saw two of the cats run over, he took drastic action. Reaching a dark aqua blue and yellow wing through the bars of his cage and into Blu and Jewel's cage, he grabbed Jewel's wing and quite harshly turned her around.

"JEWEL!" bellowed the blue-and-gold macaw. Jewel, the shock from the firm grip from Saturn's wing on hers, immediately took control of her outburst. As soon as Jewel had calmed down, the two cats stopped waling over to her and Blu's cage. Then Jewel shot Saturn a glare.

"You don't even understand how much I wanna tear Nigel's feathers out, pal," she snarled in as low voice but Saturn gave her the rebuking eye.

"I don't understand how much you wanna tear Nigel's feathers out?" he retorted, repeating Jewel's statement, "Don't you realise what you could have put yourself into?"

Jewel was about to reply but Saturn swept on. "Nigel could have killed you on the spot. Those acidic remarks and words you allowed your tongue to spew at that cockatoo's face like a spitting cobra almost sent that cockatoo over the edge."

Jewel did not faze at Saturn's rebuke but what Saturn said was true. That barrage of acidic words and threats would have made Nigel explode violently into a feral cockatoo, similar to how Brutus almost always behaved when severely provoked, and would have seriously injured or even killed Jewel on the spot. But Jewel did not care one bit about that. She was bitterly angry at Nigel for his abuse of exotic birds, his breaking of her wing which she still clearly remembered, and his treatment of her three chicks, and still wanted to violently show that cockatoo what for, regardless of the risks involved. Being a free-spirited macaw, Jewel sometimes did not listen to her friends' warnings, and that could come with dire consequences. Then Blu spoke on her behalf.

"Look, Saturn," growled the brown-eyed male Spix macaw angrily, "As much as I was shocked at the comments Jewel fired at Nigel, I totally agree with her. I'd have said the same things…"

Saturn did a wing-palm (equivalent to a human's facepalm) in utter frustration at Blu and Jewel's stubbornness. "Oh, for the last time," he muttered, "Battering Nigel with acidic comments like Jewel did a while ago is NOT going to achieve anything except make things worse."

He then gave Jewel the sink eye and added, "And Jewel, you ought to watch your tongue next time. This time you were fortunate but the next time you let that acidic tongue of yours get out of control, you might not be so lucky."

"Don't underestimate our explosive enmity with that filthy cockatoo, Saturn," snapped Jewel stubbornly.

"You know us two and that cockatoo don't mix like flammable gas and a naked flame," added Blu. Saturn did not reply and just went over to speak to Veggie and Broccoli, who had reacted in utter shock at what sort of comments Jewel had fired at Nigel, once again while Orquidea tried to calm her terrified seven chicks' fears, leaving the Spix macaw couple to look on, before turning their gaze to Nigel as he helped Otis and two more cats bring up the final cage containing Travis and his family into the attic, burning hatred rising within them once again. However, they kept their cool this time but it was going to be very difficult.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14- the shock of Cazador's group's poaching plans and methods they will use**

As soon as the final cage of captured birds was placed with the others, Nigel sauntered in front of the line of caged birds, cats and dogs with the six falcons, his cat friends and the crow grunts standing behind him like an army of soldiers, all but Cometa wearing scornful and smug facial expressions. Otis, Cazador and Moggy stood in the front-most line of the group of thieving animals, Cazador keeping a close eye on Nigel to make sure that he did not lost his temper and injure any of the macaws, especially the Spix, the Lear's and the glaucous macaws for they were highly valuable and Cazador wanted those birds to be in good shape for Lysandre and the other owners and for the macaws themselves to be sold at the highest price possible through the market once they are taken out of Brazil. as Nigel continued pacing back and forth before the caged group like a wolf waiting to devour its prey, his brown eyes raking menacingly over the birds, the cats and dogs, any of which were frightened, especially the chicks, Venus and Mercury, the caged birds, six cats and three greyhounds glared back with either frightened, enraged or bitter eyes.

Sapphire kept her wings wrapped around the frightened and whimpering Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette while at the same time shooting wary glances at Mercury in a cage of his own who was still in a state of panic; Zephyr was the same with the panicked Venus and like Sapphire he had his wings wrapped around Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil. The four chicks were worried for Carla, Bia and Tiago who were huddle together in a separate cage of their own but they were too frightened to peer out from the cloak of their father's wings to check on them because of Nigel and the others. Both Sapphire and Zephyr wore wary and enraged scowls at the villainous group of animals, especially Nigel, who continued smirking at Mercury and Venus and mocking their panic. Seeing the wicked cockatoo scorn the distress of the macaws they deeply loved was heart-wrenching for the male Spix macaw and female Lear's macaw, but it was also heart-wrenching for the others as well. Mars, who had his wings around Chiquitita, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre, both looked at Nigel fiercely and at Mercury and Venus remorsefully, wishing he could help them out of those cages so that they could be with Zephyr and Sapphire. Jupiter had his wings spread protectively across Ruby who had Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto in her wings, Saturn was the same with Orquidea who also had her wings wrapped around Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus who were visibly frightened. Iapetus briefly peered out from over his mother's wing and when he got a glimpse of the hideously scornful face of Nigel, he whimpered and retracted his eye behind Orquidea's wing to cower with the other six. Uranus and Esmeralda had their wings wrapped around each other and their chicks Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon, Neptune and Ultramarine, who were packed tightly into a large cage together, had their wings wrapped around each other and their two chicks Triton and Indigo, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Charon, Blueberry, Flor and Quincy were huddled together in a family hug. Pluto and Lapis Lazuli had their eyes timidly on the prowling Nigel as he continued to pace back and forth, but Charon, unlike his family, had his eyes saturated with bitterness like that of concentrated lemon juice fixed onto Nigel as though not afraid though under the brave appearance, he was wary. Next to the glaucous macaws, Cobalto had his wings spread protectively across Ceres as she had her wings wrapped around the terrified Wilbur, Aurelio and Azul, and Travis was the same with Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa, and Carla, Bia and Tiago were huddled together still in their cage, timidly eying Nigel and dreading his next move. Amongst the crowd of caged birds, Veggie, Broccoli (who still held his bitten paw), Collette, Thomas and Daisy, and Eduarda (who still clutched her scratched side), Danny and Esperanza, each in their own cages, also watched Nigel with either frightened or furious eyes, Veggie especially, and Blu and Jewel's faces were absolutely engorged with bitterness and fury. There was a confrontational silence hanging over the group in the attic air for a few minutes until finally, Otis broke it. Stepping forward towards the captured group, he eyed Veggie.

"Now that we have captured you lot," he said, vengeance obviously acidifying his voice tone. If it were an acid, it would be hydrochloric. "We have a few things we would like to go through but first, I have a question I would like to ask you, veggie cat. Where is Catina?"

Veggie angrily kept his mouth glued shut, angrily refusing to answer much to Otis's chagrin.

"Really," snapped the black and white cat, "You're not gonna tell us where that calico that ruined our future, our lives and is the reason for the death of Brutus several years ago is? You rotten coward."

"We were desperate to get our claws into that female calico for ruining our future," added Moggy bitterly. Nigel then shot out a tattered wing to silence the two cats.

"That is enough on that worthless calico," he said, "She's not of great concern right now."

Otis, Moggy and several other cats let loose sighs of disappointment and frustration as Nigel then began to pace towards the caged birds, cats and dogs like a wolf. His approach struck fright into the majority of the caged group, especially Carla, Bia, Tiago, Venus and Mercury and they began to back away and writhe in the side of the cage furthest from the cockatoo, while the fur of Veggie, Broccoli, Esperanza and feathers of some of the birds, especially Blu, Jewel, Jupiter, Saturn, Zephyr and Sapphire puffed out. Travis's yellow crest rose as well as he watched the older sulfur-crested cockatoo approach the group, Sunset behind him hugging the three hybrid cockatoo chicks closer to her. As Nigel continued approaching the group, he made a beeline for Mercury and Venus, his eyes wickedly boring into the increasingly terrified Spix and Lear's macaws. Cazador continued watching Nigel with a strict pair of eyes, poised to take action should Nigel decide on hurting any of the macaws. That was the only sliver of gladness for the caged birds, but less so for the cats and dogs, and possibly Travis and his family as well for they were not exotic birds from Brazil. As Nigel was close to the cages holding Venus and Mercury, he scornfully pushed his face up close to Venus's cage and added more fuel to the fire of Venus's fright, indicated by the female pigtailed Spix macaw's increasingly frightened writhes against the cage side, her yellow eyes swollen with obvious fear and her feathers puffed out. The others watched on in utter horror.

"Whassup, pigtails?" asked Nigel scornfully, his brown eyes purposely widened and crest fully raised to make him look more frightening, "Don't you remember me?"

Venus, at this, took one look at Nigel's ugly and frightening face and let loose panicked whimpers and gasps escape her beak, while her wings and talons continued scrabbling on the silvery floor of the cage in an effort to push Venus away from the terrifying cockatoo. Zephyr saw what Nigel was doing to Venus.

"Stop it, Nigel," he barked but it went into one of the evil cockatoo's ears and straight out of the other like a fish through a wide-enough hole in a net.

"Heh, that sort of behaviour is exactly what I would like to see in every exotic bird, pigtails," crooned Nigel scornfully as Venus continued writhing and whimpering in utter terror, "Especially from my most detested macaw species on the planet, the Spix macaw."

Zephyr began to lose patience and his temper.

"I said STOP IT, NIGEL!" he bellowed, even louder this time.

"Yeah, stop it at once," put in Mars furiously, "Can't you see what you're doing to Venus and Mercury?"

"You're terrifying them," added Sapphire. Nigel did not answer any of these three macaws and continued intimidating Venus and Mercury. He then eyed Mercury with the same frightening facial expression and fully-raised crest and struck immense fear into Mercury as well, making him back away timidly against the side of the cage farthest from him. Then Nigel's beak creased into a wicked smile.

"You two are definitely the same macaws that I met when you were both little," crooned the cockatoo wickedly, "Do you two remember when you were little chicks, and when I smuggled you both out of Rio's rainforest to be taken to the UK?"

Venus and Mercury continued to writhe and whimper.

"Nigel," growled Sapphire fiercely but Nigel behaved as though she wasn't there. Jupiter then set to trying to remove the padlock locking him and his family into their cage.

"What are you doing?" asked Ruby, her wings still wrapped around Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.

"I'm gonna get out of this cage and drive that cockatoo away from Venus and Mercury," he retorted as he began to fiddle with the padlock. However, Jupiter was unaware that the group was being watched. As he continued fiddling with the padlock, a crowing sound was heard and before the burly scarlet macaw could identify where and what that came from, a black head armed with a sharp beak jabbed in and pecked him in the talon. Jupiter yelped in pain and fell backwards, taking hold of his talon before looking up at whatever had pecked him. It was one of the crows, and it looked scornfully at the scarlet macaw.

"Do you wanna face the consequences, bag of muscles and feathers?" it crooned nastily. Jupiter, at this, jumped up and lashed at the crow. Grabbing it by the neck with a talon, the muscular scarlet macaw glared at it in the face with a pair of storm-filled brown eyes.

"You will undo that padlock this MINUTE!" he barked, "Or YOU'LL be facing the consequences."

The crow, fear replacing its previous mocking look, gulped timidly. Then Jupiter shot Nigel an extremely stormy glare.

"Stop picking on those two macaws," he barked, "NOOOOWW!"

Nigel, at this, stopped tormenting Mercury and Venus and eyed the vermillion scarlet macaw.

"Or what, Muscles?" he retorted spitefully.

"Or I'll give this crow a piece of my mind," snarled Jupiter in retort. As he said this, Aliana, one of the falcons, ran up to Jupiter's cage and threateningly raised a talon.

"You do and I'll slash you with this talon of mine," she snarled, making her threat perfectly clear by showing Jupiter the lethal sickle-like claws on the ends of her four toes. The black claws glinted in the light. Jupiter shot the falcon a glare when Ruby came in.

"Please, drop that crow," she gently said, wary of Aliana's threat.

"It will be extremely brutal," snarled Aliana, "Like how we falcons dispatch our prey."

This threat sent shivers down Jupiter's spine, and the storm clouds in his eyes began to clear as his anger became replaced by fear. The villainous animals looked on and tittered but Cometa had a look of remorse and sympathy on her face.

"Please drop the crow, red macaw," she murmured in a low voice, not out of loyal agreement with her friends, but out of fear for Jupiter's life. Cazador then stepped in. However, his eyes weren't on Aliana, but Jupiter, who still had his talon wrapped around the crow's neck.

"Do as she says, red macaw," he snarled, "Or Aliana here will have my permission to attack you or even kill you with one brutal slash of her talon."

The other caged animals including Mercury, Venus, Blu and Jewel had their eyes on Jupiter as well. They could see that Jupiter was putting himself in mortal danger and if he did not comply, Ruby could lose her mate, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto could lose their father and the others could lose their friend, especially Saturn for he and Jupiter shared a close brotherly bond. Jupiter continued holding the crow by the neck and observed the facial expressions of the crowd. When he saw the worried and mortified faces on his friends, mate, three daughters and son, especially the latter five, and also the threatening looks on Nigel, Cazador and Aliana, Jupiter finally swallowed his temper and dropped the crow. The crow flopped down onto the floor and began to gasp for air. After the scarlet macaw complied, Cazador smiled and Aliana lowered her talon.

"That's a good scarlet macaw," crooned Cazador. He then went to the front of the caged crowd and issued a strong warning.

"Now let that be a lesson to the rest of you, especially if you are of a common species of macaw," he barked, "If any of you ever step out of line, disobey or hurt any of us or our owners, YOU will be facing some seriously dire consequences. Only the Lear's, the Spix and the glaucous macaws are exempt from any punishment we plan to issue for disobedience."

Cazador then gestured to the other falcons, Nigel, the cats and the crows and added, "These assistants of mine have my permission to do you harm if you EVER step out of line if you are not a Spix, Lear's or glaucous macaw. Now I want you lot to remember that warning or else! Is that clear?"

No reply from any of the non-Spix, glaucous and Lear's macaws.

"I said IS THAT CLEAR!?" bellowed Cazador even louder. The non-Spix, glaucous and Lear's macaws all said yes upon being startled by the fierce falcon's voice. Cazador smiled. "Good," he said, "And I expect obedience like that to the end."

Turning to three of the crows, Cazador commanded, "Fly out and fetch our three owners with the wheelbarrows here."

The three crows nodded and left the attic via the hole. After they had gone, Nigel began to continue his taunts of the group. This time, he eyed Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Mars and paced over toward them like a cat ready to pounce onto its prey.

"Did you know that I have met those six before, pretty birds?" he crooned evilly. Shock and disbelief exploded through the caged group like a shockwave, especially Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Mars.

"What!?" snapped Mars

"What do you mean you've met us before?" added Saturn.

"We don't even remember ever meeting you," put in Uranus. Nigel smiled wickedly as the others looked on with incredulous looks marking their faces.

"Ah, but you six see," he said, pacing in the opposite direction, "When you were little chicks, I participated in capturing and smuggling you lot out of various countries around Central and South America before I captured that pigtailed Spix macaw and male Lear's macaw over there," he nodded to Mercury and Venus as he said this, "The reason why you can't remember your birthplace at all is because I violently knocked you lot out 'cause you wouldn't shut up…"

As these words were absorbed by the six macaws' minds, they were stunned. Then Ruby eyed Jupiter with a surprised gaze and asked, "You… you came from either here or another country around Brazil!?""

Jupiter just replied with a silent gaze. He couldn't even remember being born in South America and then smuggled out of the continent to the UK.

"All we remember of our first life moments was in a bird centre," said Uranus, "Where we were purchased and given to Blake, Drake and Jake before Susan and Lucy received Mercury and Venus for their birthday."

"You won't remember anything about the first few weeks of your lives in any of your birthplaces," crooned Nigel remorselessly, "The thing is, I must have given you lot serious amnesia on your way to the UK, but the fault rests on you lot. You were the ones who wouldn't shut up."

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised that if those six started wailing and whimpering after being torn from their families and homes as chicks," snapped Cobalto, "How would YOU feel if you were torn from your family and friends by poachers and thrown into a cage to be taken to demises unknown?"

Ceres just shrugged but then Neptune felt it dawn upon him. "I think that explains why we felt like we belonged to the jungle in the first place the first time we arrived here rather than as pets under the ownership of humans…"

"And your rapid adaptation to the wild as well," said Blu. Jewel just looked on and said nothing but her bitter gaze was on Nigel. Nigel then smiled wickedly and said, "Well, that's not important. What's more important is your preparation to be smuggled out of Brazil like before."

"We don't wanna hear about that stupid stuff," snarled Ruby, "I believe that whatever you did to Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Uranus, Neptune and Ceres was utterly diabolical."

"As with any other bird, especially chicks," put in Zephyr. He then stole a sympathetic and distressed gaze at Venus and Mercury who were still terrified, their fright-filled eyes fixed on Nigel. Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil also gazed at the mother, longingly wanting her back with them and their father. Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette also wore those same looks as they gazed at Mercury. Then Cazador sauntered forward, a nod to Nigel who stepped back to allow the lead falcon to speak. He wore a wicked grin on his lethal looking beak.

"If you're sayin' you don't want to hear about you lot preparing for your trips out of Brazil to your new homes, you lot, I'm afraid you've got another thing coming," he crooned, "In fact, your trip starts here. The first step is getting you lot to our owners."

"And then what!?" snarled Mars, his red feathers on end. Chiquitita, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre just looked on and said nothing.

"Well," said Cazador to the male green-winged macaw, pacing towards him, "You will be held there while we, together with our owners, will be going out into the Sanctuary de Amazon to capture a lot of your wild friends out there."

Shock hit the group.

"But you CAN'T!" snarled Veggie, "That area where the Spix macaw flock and their neighbours including the glaucous macaw clan is now a protected reserve."

"Poaching has become outlawed in that area," added Collette.

"And if anyone has ever caught trying to poach any of the animals in that patch of rainforest," put in Travis, "Particularly any of the Spix, Lear's and glaucous macaws, Tulio or another head ecologist will be alerted and you lot WILL be caught…"

Cazador, together with his comrades including the cats, Nigel but excluded Cometa, remained adamant with the wicked grins never leaving their faces.

"That is certainly true that the Sanctuary de Amazon is now a protected reserve such that poaching and logging is outlawed," he crooned, "But our owners have concocted a sly plan to infiltrate the sanctuary and sneak past the security barriers in the process…"

"How?" snapped Blu, his feathers on end. Jewel's face flashed a dreaded look as images of her tribe flashed in her mind. Zephyr, Sapphire, Cobalto, Chiquitita, Ruby, Esmeralda, Orquidea, Ultramarine and Lapis Lazuli's eyes also blinked as they also had images of their respective tribes and clans, as well as the non-tribe and clan resident friends, such as Falkor the milicinth macaw, Fedor the hoatzin and Ámbar the lutino blue-and-gold macaw who lived on the Navyfeather hyacinth Clan and glaucous macaw tribe's territory, flash in their minds. Xerosic then meanly stepped forward and replied to Blu, "Put it like this, brown-eyed blue bird; how would a thief sneak into a bank without being seen or detected? How would he get by the security guards and other security methods to successfully steal money and escape?"

Blu, at this, was hit with bafflement, as were the other caged animals. But then it dawned upon Blu, but it was a deduction that he didn't really like. Veggie also began to deduce this rather ridiculous metaphor. The others began to throw in their guesses.

"By hugging the shadows?" Travis asked.

"Not quite," said Xerosic teasingly.

"Distraction of the guards using a decoy?" asked Esmeralda.

"That's included but there's more than just distraction of the guards alone," said Cazador.

"Moving around in a disguise," growled Uranus bitterly.

"Close," said Cazador, "But you're still as cold as the snow on a mountain."

This was met by frustrated growls from the caged group. Then Blu threw in his guess.

"Possibly disguising as a bank worker and using fake ID," he snapped.

"Correct guess, blue macaw," crooned Xerosic.

"You've hit the nail on the head," said Cazador evilly. The others including Nigel and the cats tittered slyly. The moment the others heard what Cazador and Xerosic had said what they and their owners would be doing and how they were going to sneak into the Sanctuary de Amazon, horror washed through the group like a tsunami.

"Wait a minute," said Veggie, "Are you meaning to say that your owners are gonna disguiser as _ecologists_ and sneak into the Sanctuary de Amazon THAT way to poach animals, especially from the Spix, the Lear's and the glaucous macaw flocks!? _"_

"Yup," said Cazador with confirmatory nod, "But some of our owners will actually be heading off to the Sanctuary de Amazon alongside Tulio and his team while the rest of us sneak in afterward," he gestured to himself and the other falcons, Nigel and the cats and continued, "With us being smuggled into the Sanctuary de Amazon along with numerous cages and net guns and as soon as Tulio and his team is distracted, we will set to work with catching as many animals as possible."

"And then we will make our getaway and take our catches out of this country," added Aliana, her eyes then narrowed toward the caged group, "Including you lot."

"But first, we have to get you lot to Lysandre's base before we could go ahead with the next step," said Cazador, "And before Ernesto, one of our owners who is currently spying on Tulio and his team while they work at Tulio's Aviary and prepare for the trip ahead, gives us the signal once Tulio gives his team the date that they will go to the Sanctuary de Amazon, which, hopefully, should be very soon."

The caged group just glared back with bitter and angered looks on their faces.

"You bunch of FIENDISH CREEPS!" snarled Sunset.

"You are NOT gonna go out and steal ANY of those animals on the Sanctuary de Amazon," put in Veggie.

"Certainly not the Spix, the glaucous and the Lear's macaw tribes," put in Blu, "Tulio and Linda, alongside me and my family, have worked EVER so HARD to find and get that flock's habitat set up as a protected reserve to protect them from the dire effects of logging and poaching."

"With the Lear's and glaucous macaws, and the other tribes and clans including Esmeralda and now Uranus's tribe," added Ceres, gesturing to Uranus and his family, "Following shortly after."

"And to sneak into the Sanctuary de Amazon to steal from those protected flocks would be putting all that effort to waste," added Jupiter.

"But it would be worth the effort for us," said Otis, walking in and standing by Cazador, "Once all this is over, we will be RICH!"

Then Nigel sauntered towards Blu and Jewel, bitterness and hatred burning in his eyes once again, and greater the closer he got to his two most hated nemeses on the planet. Jewel became poised to take action as Nigel's face moved close to her and Blu's cage.

"And during the process," Nigel crooned sadistically, his face barely inches away from Blu's face, "I will be getting' my revenge on you both, for crippling my ability to fly. Since you both caused me extreme loss and the humiliation and misery that followed, I'M gonna put you two, and your chicks," he stole a glance from Carla, Bia and Tiago in their own cage, separate from their parents and then returned his glare back to Blu and Jewel, "through the same ordeal you both have put me through."

He then quickly retreated before Jewel had the chance to spit in his face again. Going over to Zephyr and Sapphire and their chicks, and Venus and Mercury, Nigel said, "As for you lot, I'm gonna be puttin' those two (referring to Mercury and Venus), through the same trauma they had suffered as chicks when I slaughtered their families and viciously attacked them during their trip to the UK."

He then smiled wickedly at Justin and his three siblings as they huddled against Zephyr fearfully, though Virgil wore a bitter facial expression, and then at Phoebe and her two sisters as they huddled against Sapphire in the adjacent cage and continued, "And to do that, YOU two and your CHICKS will be involved!"

"How!?" snapped Sapphire but Zephyr was not having any of it. Neither were any of the other caged animals.

"If you EVER lay a claw on either MY MATE or MY CHICKS, or Mercury and his family over there," snarled Zephyr fiercely, "I'm gonna tear your feathers out, even if it means putting my life in danger!"

"And WE will certainly not have you TORMENTING Carla, Bia and Tiago either," added Jewel volcanically. Nigel's wicked smile, however, remained. Ignoring the female hatred-saturated teal-eyed macaw, Nigel addressed the male macaw with green eyes.

"I think not, pretty bird," he crooned, his beak shoved against the cage holding Zephyr and his six chicks, "But how I'm gonna put your pretty mate and the mate of long head-feathers over there," he nodded to Sapphire, "Is for me to know and you to find out."

He left but as he did so, Virgil ran in and spat at the cockatoo, but Nigel didn't notice. Eyeing Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Pluto, Nigel added, "You lot will be put through some serious trauma as well," his face and voice then turned more threatening, "But you lot must comply with Cazador and the rest of us for he has given us permission to attack you if you ever disobey, step out of line or lash out at any of us, and that could mean certain death to the offender."

Dread struck those six macaw families and their friends.

"No," murmured Veggie mortified. The Lear's, Spix (including Blu and Jewel) and glaucous macaws, and Travis and his family also gazed at the families of scarlet, green-winged, blue-throated, great green, blue-and-gold and hyacinth macaws as they huddled together timidly, their chicks whimpering fearfully. Nigel smiled wickedly as he watched the six families huddle together, but at the same time he felt a wave of disgust.

"Ugh, families," he muttered, "They make me sick, especially if they're pretty birds. I just hope they will end up with evil owners when we successfully smuggle then out of here…"

Turning his back on the caged group, Nigel returned to the other cats and crows and falcons. Cometa, who had been watching Nigel and listening to his threats, had flinched slightly on the outside but more so, on the inside. Unlike her groupmates, she was flooded with sympathy and remorse, especially as she watched Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Ceres's families huddle together in fear, the terrified looks on Venus, Mercury, Carla, Bia and Tiago and their longing to be with their parents (for Carla and her brother and sister with Blu and Jewel), and mates and chicks (for Mercury and Venus), and vice versa. Zephyr and Sapphire were especially worried for their mates who were separated from them in separate cages. Furthermore, Nigel's taunting of the birds sent waves of disgust sweeping through Cometa, and she clearly did not like the cockatoo at all, not to mention the potentially fatal threats Cazador had issued the non-Spix, Lear's and glaucous macaws if they didn't comply. Then Cazador's command aimed at her and the others snapped her out of her sympathy and she quickly put on her façade of obedience and loyalty again as Cazador was faced her and her groupmates' way.

"Take the cages containing the cats and greyhounds and take them downstairs," the lead falcon commanded. Without hesitation, the pattering of cat paws and falcon and crow talons sounded through the attic floor as the cats, falcons including Cometa and crows made their way to Veggie and the other four cats and three greyhounds, and picked up their cages. Then, following Cazador's command, Veggie, Broccoli, Thomas, Collette, Daisy, Danny, Esperanza and Eduarda found themselves being carried in their cages towards the attic entrance. Shooting his feathered friends a glance, Veggie said, "Don't worry, you lot. We'll…"

"Shut up, cat," snapped Bryony as she carried his cage, "Or you'll be clawed."

Veggie did so and did not say anything for the whole journey from the attic to the living room. However, he maintained his concerned look on his feathered friends as they helplessly watched him and his adult kittens and the three greyhounds get carried to the attic entrance and then disappear through it.

'I'm gonna have to find a way outro if this mess,' thought Veggie as he examined the padlock locking him into his cage, 'If I don't, those macaws are going to be carried off to wherever these new friends of that disgusting cockatoo and cat friends are hiding…'

Within less than a minute, all three greyhounds and five cats were finally in the bombsite-like kitchen and living room. As soon as they were here, the falcons, cats and crows placed the cages down and some of the cats and crows took up guard-like positions to watch over Veggie and company for the rest of the duration of Nigel and company's presence until they left, while the others including Bryony, Aliana, Xeorsic, Swoop and Cometa left the room to return to the attic to help the remaining cats and crows, Nigel and Cazador to haul the caged macaws and cockatoos down when the three owners turned up. As she left after the other four falcons, Cometa shot a remorseful gaze back at Veggie and company before leaving through the door to the hallway. A while later, the caged birds had been brought down from the attic but the carriers, this time, remained at the foot of the stairs. After all the caged birds had been carried down the stairs, Nigel walked into the living room and kitchen through the hallway door with Otis, Tom and Moggy close behind him. As the four then sauntered towards Veggie and company, Veggie had a look of thunder on his face. His fur was puffed out and his brown eyes were ablaze with wrath as they watched the cockatoo approach him.

"I'm gonna tear your feathers out for this, you disgusting piece of work," hissed the tabby cat threateningly, "Especially for not heeding our warning about laying a claw on any exotic bird and keeping away from them, especially Blu and his family."

Nigel's wicked gaze, however, never left his face. "Well, I'm afraid it went in one ear and out of the other, cat," he crooned, his beak shoved close to Veggie's nose with only the bars separating the two. "I've caught them, and that's that."

"Mom is seriously gonna go berserk when she sees all this and hears what you've done to our feathered friends!" snarled Collette nearby. Thomas, Broccoli, Daisy, Danny, Esperanza and Eduarda all growled or hissed in agreement. Nigel ignored the caliby, her three brothers and the three greyhounds and addressed the former four's tabby father.

"I think you should have learned your lesson, cat," murmured Nigel evilly into Veggie's face, "not to interfere or interact with birds in the first place, especially when you refuse to eat birds, fish and mice…"

"Those macaws and that cockatoo family are my FRIENDS!" retorted Veggie, "But any bird that dares hurt them in any way, I will NOT tolerate. Now get ya foul beak out of my face!"

Then he did something that he would never normally do to a bird. Raising a paw and protracting its claws, Veggie brought it down in an attempt to scratch Nigel's face, a fierce hiss escaping his mouth, but Nigel dodged at the last second before Veggie's claws could make contact with his face and open a wound, and add another scratch to the one Jewel had inflicted on his right cheek earlier. Then Otis jumped in at the same time as Nigel's retreating and hissed directly into Veggie's face, making the tabby cat jump.

"You claw Nigel and I'll claw you, veggie cat," Otis snarled, his own claws exposed, poised to attack Veggie, "You're lucky that Brutus isn't here, or he'd surely claw you to death…"

Veggie just glared back at the black and white cat while Esperanza began to throw out a barrage of acidic words and insults at Nigel. However, they were less vitriolic than Jewel's.

"You DIABOLICAL, SULFUR-CRESTED SLIME-BALL!" she bellowed, writhing in her cage, "We will NOT allow you to LAY a CLAW on ANY OF our feathered friends, certainly NOT Blu and his family!"

Nigel, in response, lashed at Esperanza with an enraged squawk and slashed a talon at her, much to the shock of the crows and other cats. But Esperanza dodged and retaliated with her own swipe of a paw. The paw swipe caught Nigel on the cheek where Jewel and scratched him earlier and sent him flying in the same direction. Nigel crashed on his side and felt a trickle of blood ooze from his cheek. The claws on Esperanza's paw as it swiped him had clipped the half-healed scratch wound and had reopened parts of it. Nigel, at this, raised a wing and touched his cheek where Esperanza had hit him. When his wing came away, he reacted in shock at the red blotches on his tattered wing feathers, before shooting Esperanza an acidic gaze as she barked and growled fiercely at him. Collette, Broccoli and Thomas looked on in shock, Danny, Daisy and Eduarda in utter fear while Veggie looked on in a glare empty of any sympathy. Then the crows and cats guarding them took action and restrained the vicious Esperanza as she continued barking at Nigel. Her nape and back hackles were raised and she practically looked like a Rottweiler guard dog barking at an intruder. For the first time in her life, Esperanza had put on a threatening posture but now that had been restrained by cat paws and crow talons.

"Esperanza, sis," calm down!" called Eduarda. The others looked on in fear and wariness as Moggy and Tom helped Nigel to his feet. Esperanza, at first, struggled and writhed in her captors' talons and paws for her anger at Nigel continued burning within but then she cooled the flames of fury within her when she saw that she was being threatened by cat paws with claws protected.

"Stop your tantrum, dog, or you'll be scratched!" snarled one of the cats, the male white Persian cat. Veggie also shot Esperanza a glare.

"Calm down," he commanded. Esperanza did so and stopped writhing, making the cats and crows release her and those that had their claws poised to scratch her withdrew their paws. As soon as things had calm down, Otis made his move. Going straight to Veggie with an angry and determined glare on his face at the tabby cat, Otis stopped before Veggie in his cage and asked, "Now, for one final time, where is Catina?"

Nigel glared at Veggie with brown eyes glittering with malice and a wing on his reopened cheek scratch. His tattered yellow crest was also fully raised. Veggie glared back at Otis.

"Why do you want to know?" he rhetorically asked. A frustrated and irritated growl erupted from Otis's mouth and he threw his head back.

"You know downright well why we want to know, veggie cat," retorted Otis, "That calico who left us in ruins after abandoning us and the life of catching and smuggling birds. We wanna get our claws into her in revenge for the death of Brutus, the imprisonment of our owners and our ruined future. So where is she?"

Veggie, at first, did not reply and kept his mouth shut but then Otis's paw rose and its claws were protracted, poised to scratch him. Veggie flinched in awareness.

"I said, WHERE IS SHE!?" snarled Otis more threateningly.

"We know that she must live here," put in Tom, his eyes glaring at Daisy and Collette, "I can tell that those two are her daughters based on their markings, and your kittens. Now where is that calico?"

Veggie glared at Tom and Moggy who flanked the silent Nigel and then back at the black and white cat again. He knew that he had a choice: either continue to keep quiet and face a flurry of slashes from Otis or make up a story to convince him and his comrades as to Catina's whereabouts, but he was not going to betray his mate by handing her over to her former teammates. Finally, Veggie made his decision. He decided to go for the latter so he fabricated the best possible and convincing tale he could think of.

"She doesn't live here anymore," Veggie said flatly, hoping that this would convince Otis and his gang. "We got into a heated argument and she just left before you lot came along and attacked us. She told me that she was leaving to somewhere where I can't find her, so I don't know where she's gone. Sorry."

Otis, at this, glared back at Veggie in surprise, his claws still poised to attack Veggie. Veggie hoped in his head that this story was enough to convince the new cat gang leader. Then Otis asked two more of his comrades, Hopper and Paws as they searched the demolished cupboards, "Can you find anything?"

"No," said Hopper sadly.

"She's definitely not here," said Paws. Otis rolled his eyes and looked back at Veggie.

"Well, if she is out there," growled the black and white cat, "I hope we find her and give her a piece of our minds for what she did to us."

He then abandoned his idea of attacking Veggie, moments before three black birds fluttered into the house through the open window. At this, the cats, other crows and Nigel looked up and saw their three friends fly in.

"Where's Cazador?" asked one of the crows to Otis. Otis pointed a paw in the hallway door's direction and the crow flew off for it, its two friends following.

"Sounds like three of Cazador and his gang's owners are on their way," tittered Moggy, smug replacing hatred for she had forgotten about Catina. Nigel also smiled with evil glee.

"Finally," he crooned, "I could do with getting out of this wretched place."

He disdainfully looked around at the turned topsy-turvy kitchen and living room. "We've been here long enough."

"Yep," said Otis, "Let's get ready to take the caged birds to the owners."

He then turned to Veggie but before he could say something to him, Cazador's voice rang out from the hallway. "Okay, cats, crows and Nigel, let's get prepared to meet those three owners with their wheelbarrows and cloaks. They'll be here any second."

At this, the patters of cat paws and talons sounded on the floor as the cats, Nigel and crows made their way to the hallway when Paws stole a glance at the still-caged Veggie and company.

"Cazador," he said.

"Yes," said Cazador, his piercing eyes looking at Paws.

"What shall we do with those eight?" asked the cat, a paw pointing to Veggie, his four grown-up kittens and the three greyhounds. Cazador eyed the mammals and said, "Leave them until we have loaded the birds into our owners' wheelbarrows. After that, we'll release them and take those cages with us. When their owners return, those eight will take the blame of the mess we have made here."

"Yeah, let those eight face trouble from their owners," crooned Moggy wickedly. She then shot a scornful look at Veggie and company and left to help the others load the caged macaws and cockatoos into the wheelbarrows outside, Paws and Cazador following. Veggie and the other seven were then left to look on as the falcon and brown and white cat disappeared through the door.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15- More of Nigel's taunts, Catina begins to follow the thieves**

Soon, the front door of Susan and Lucy's house was covered by a large cloak. Under the cloak were the three owners with the wheelbarrows ready for the cages to be loaded. As soon as the three owners were ready, Cazador ordered all the caged birds to be loaded into the barrows. The cats, crows and other falcons, and Nigel obeyed and they passed the caged macaws through the ripped-off cat/dog flap the poachers' pets had destroyed in order to force their way into the house before the skirmish that turned the kitchen and living room into a bombsite. As Blu and Jewel's cage was loaded into one of the wheelbarrows, Otis attached nine more padlocks onto their cage door to prevent Blu from unlocking the door easily. With _ten_ padlocks, it would take Blu an awfully long time to pick them all with his claws and thus buy the cats and crows more time to stop him in his tracks. As the birds continued to be loaded into the wheelbarrows, Zephyr and his four chicks Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil desperately looked around for Venus while Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette looked around for Mercury. They, along with all the other birds including Travis and his family, were terrified, and the mean and mocking eyes from the cats and Nigel as they glared at them struck fear into them, especially the chicks and Venus and Mercury for this brought back hideous memories. As his family's cage was placed into a wheelbarrow, Jupiter was pondering over what Nigel said about smuggling him, Saturn, Mars, Uranus, Neptune and Ceres out of South America when they were chicks while Ruby continued trying to keep Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto calm.

"What is going to happen to us, Mom?" whimpered Io timidly.

"I don't like what those awful cats and birds are doing to us," whimpered Europa timidly, her terror filled blue eyes watching the crows and cats as they checked the macaws and Travis and his family.

"We wanna be outa here," whimpered Ganymede.

"And I especially don't like the way that mean cockatoo is picking on Aunt Venus, Uncle Mercury and Carla, Bia and Tiago," murmured Callisto. Ruby kept them in a tight hug.

"Just try not to let your panic get out of control, my kids," she whispered in a comforting voice, "We'll figure a way out."

The four chicks continued cowering in her wings when Ruby saw Jupiter deep in thought.

"Are you formulating a plan, Jupiter?" she asked. Jupiter snapped out of his thoughts and loomed at her.

"What? No, not at the moment," he said, "I was just searching my mind for any memories of my childhood in any South American country…"

Ruby gazed back at him with sympathetic eyes. "It seems that you must have gone through something similar to Mercury and Venus at the clutches of that rotten cockatoo, Jupiter, along with Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Mars," she said, "Only that cockatoo Nigel might have treated you more violently than he did Mercury and Venus as they could now remember their birthplace."

Ruby then cocked her head to one side and added, "I don't know. Perhaps it could be something to do with you being born somewhere else?"

Jupiter returned the gaze. "I definitely do feel like I belong in the jungle," he said, "So that must imply that I must definitely have been born in the wild somewhere in South America, but smuggled out of that country and raised as a pet in the UK. But the question is… which country in South America was I born in?"

Ruby was about to reply when Jupiter's mood suddenly changed from puzzlement on his real birthplace to one of determination. His feathers rose as he saw Nigel pick on Carla, Bia and Tiago and frightening them. With a look of thunder on his face, Jupiter glared fiercely at the cockatoo.

"When we get to whosoever's place," he growled under his breath, "I'm gonna try and bust everyone out of here, even if it means risking death."

Ruby shuddered as she remembered Jupiter almost facing serious or even fatal injury from one of the falcons when he had one of the crows by the neck as a threat to Nigel in order to stop him bullying and terrorising Mercury and Venus. Then suddenly, a cockatoo screech, followed by three frightened Spix macaw chick screams, made the scarlet macaw family jump. Nigel had screeched loudly into Carla, Bia and Tiago's faces, with his eyes bulging and crest fully raised and when he saw them quiver, he entered an episode of maniacal laughter.

"Oh, it sure is fun seein' the offspring of my most detested blue macaws suffer," he crooned. Seeing the foul cockatoo laugh at Carla, Bia and Tiago's distress and fear finally made Jupiter snap. Shaking with rage and like a crack of lightning, he yelled at the cockatoo.

"Stop it, Nigel," he cried. Nigel did not hear the vermillion macaw's protests and blasted Carla, Bia and Tiago with another terrifying scare, making them scream all the more and then cry.

"I said STOP PICKING ON THOSE THREE SPIX MACAW CHICKS, NIGEL!" bellowed Jupiter at the top of his voice. This caught Nigel's attention and he shot the scarlet macaw a threatening glare.

"Would you like me to get Cazador or one of the other falcons to come and tear you apart, scarlet macaw?" growled Nigel. Jupiter was about to retort when Ruby stopped him.

"No," snapped Jupiter bitterly. He tried to look afraid but Nigel could see straight through the façade.

"I can see you're not afraid, scarlet macaw," crooned the cockatoo wickedly, pacing towards the scarlet macaw family. Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto whimpered and shuddered with fear in Ruby's wings and Ruby pulled them closer to her, but Jupiter maintained a bitter glare even as Nigel shoved his beak into his face. Then a stench tainting Nigel's breath wafted into Jupiter's nostrils, making him flinch in revulsion.

"Ugh, what have you been eating, cockatoo?" muttered the scarlet macaw, a wing waving in front of his beak to blow away the smelly breath, "Your breath stinks."

"Does it? Good," crooned Nigel wickedly in a voice as slick as diesel, "I hope it makes you feel sick."

Suddenly, Ruby lurched forward and sent a yellow and blue wing striking hard across Nigel's face, hitting the exact same spot Jewel had scratched the cockatoo. Nigel flinched from the sharp pain from both the pain of the slap and the scratch.

"Get ya face out of our sight, you filthy vulture," snarled the female scarlet macaw as she did it. Not far from Jupiter and his family's cage, Carla, Bia and Tiago watched from their cage, their eyes wide with fear but under that fear, bitterness and scorn. Nigel then looked up at the scarlet macaw family and raised his feathers, including those in his crest, his wing covering the spot where Ruby's wing made contact with his face. His brown eyes burned and glittered with immense hatred and malice. But before he could retaliate, Otis called Nigel's name.

"Can you help me load this cage containing the great green macaws, Nigel," called the black and white cat, "The female's not making things easy for us."

Nigel shot Otis an obedient gaze and then a bitter glare at the scarlet macaws, especially Ruby.

"When I get back to you, red macaws," he growled, "I'm gonna give you a piece of my mind."

Jupiter, in response, raised a talon and exposed its claws. "Then I'll do to you what Jewel did back in the house if you EVER threaten any of us, cockatoo, especially Carla, Bia and Tiago over there," he growled threateningly. Nigel did not reply and left to help Otis. Ruby looked on as Nigel left, sourness smeared all over her face.

"As much as I am scared of Cazador's promised punishment if we step out of line," she growled, "I'm not gonna have HIM pick on Blu and Jewel's chicks, but I sure hope Blu and Jewel claws his face in and break his wings. After all, they do not tolerate their chicks being mistreated."

Jupiter looked on with an agreeing face as Ganymede peered out through a gap in Ruby's wings.

"He and Aunt Jewel and Uncle Blu are as incompatible as the metal caesium with water," he said with immense dislike swirling in his voice like ink in a glass of water, "When the three are near each other, explosive results are bound to happen."

"I don't mix with him either," snarled Ruby in disgust of Nigel, "Especially after what he had done to Carla, Bia and Tiago, and also Broccoli and Eduarda when they tried defending them."

Then Jupiter shot Ruby a glare and said, "And it's a good thing he didn't lash out at you when you slapped his face. Next time, you might not be so lucky."

Ruby sighed and continued glaring after the cockatoo bitterly. In another wheelbarrow, Mercury and Venus were in a hysterical state like Venus had been after her escape from the terrifying group of flying foxes led by Voldemort shortly after the fire in the Amazon rainforest. They had been placed in a wheelbarrow separate from their families, and were flooded with worry and fear for them besides the terror of facing the killer of their families when they were chicks again. As Mercury and Venus continued timidly looking around, whimpering, shaking and hyperventilating, Mars and Chiquitita tried to calm them down. Chiquitita still had her wings hiding Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre.

"Mercury, Venus, calm down," begged Mars. But the pigtailed Spix macaw and grey-eyed Lear's macaw didn't hear his voice and continued trembling like jellies and breathing shallowly and quickly. Mars tried to reach a comforting wing from his cage and into Mercury's but Mercury was out of reach.

"Please, don't panic," begged Mars in a louder voice, "You've got to get those panic attacks under control!"

Still Mercury and Venus continued shaking, breathing rapidly and whimpering timidly. Behind Mars and his family's cage, Ceres and her family looked on sympathetically.

"She's just like what Zephyr had described to me when she was found by Falkor and some of his assistants after the fire," said Cobalto, "And Mercury looks no different."

Ceres, Wilbur, Aurelio and Azul looked on and said nothing. Mars became flooded with desperation as his two friends looked as though they were about to pass out.

"Please, you two, CALM DOWN!" he cried.

"We will find a way out of here," added Chiquitita. Suddenly, a sickly voice sounded, "You try and tell those panicking Spix and Lear's macaws to calm down one more time and I'll get one of the falcons to come and claw ya to death!"

At this, the gazes of the adult green-winged macaws and blue-throated macaws snapped from the panicking Mercury and Venus to the disgusting cockatoo. Mars's feathers bristled like a cat's fur when he saw Nigel walk into the scene, his sadistic eyes gazing at the two panic-stricken macaws. As he saw Mercury and Venus writhe in utter terror at the sight of him, Nigel sauntered towards them in an intimidating way.

"Whassup, you two?" he asked sadistically and in mock sympathy, "Wishin' you were with your pretty lil' mates and chickies?"

"Please, g-g-g-get away from us," Venus managed to utter some words. Her stomach then began to churn as though she had smelt a nauseating stench. Nigel then stepped up to her cage, his feathers and crest purposely raised and his eyes widened in the most frightening way. He was not doing this out of anger, but out of the intention of striking more fear into Venus and Mercury. He then opened his wings and raised a talon as though poised to attack her. Venus, at this, took one look at Nigel's threatening posture, images began to flash in her mind as she remembered the violent treatment that same cockatoo had given her and Mercury when they were chicks and wouldn't stop crying. Venus, at this, wailed and whimpered and covered her eyes with her wings. Then Nigel turned to Mercury and made the same threatening and intimidation pose, frightening him into covering his face with his wings and whimpering loudly and in fear as well. Nigel's beak was creased into the most sadistic laugh as he relished the frightened whimpers uttering from Venus and Mercury's beaks.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha," he cackled, "This is just like when you were lousy little chicks. You're no different from when you were little back then."

Then he burst out into his signature maniacal laughter. Mars, Chiquitita, Cobalto and Ceres looked on in disgust.

"STOP IT AT ONCE, NIGEL!" bellowed Mars, "Look what you're doing to them!"

Suddenly, a vicious white face with brown eyes, black beak and pale yellow crest shot in and screeched directly into Mars's face, startling him and sending him bumping into Chiquitita. Chiquitita cried in surprise and fell forward, accidentally releasing Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre from her protective cover of wings and throwing them before Nigel. When the three brothers got a glimpse of the wicked cockatoo's face, they wailed and backed away in utter fear. Nigel then backed away and laughed evilly.

"It's good to see you red macaws scared reckless as well," he crooned, before meanly looking down at the terrified Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre, "Especially chicks."

Suddenly, a talon flew in from inside the cage, reached through the bars and slashed Nigel's left cheek, knocking him down. The cockatoo cried in shock and pain as he fell on his front. Then Nigel felt something wet on his left cheek. At this, he lifted a tattered wing to that cheek and covered the new scratch mark, before turning in the direction of the green-winged macaws, including the one who had delivered the attack.

"I hope that's a taste of what Jewel will do to you when she gets her claws into your ragged plumage and unleashes her full fury, vulture-face," snarled Chiquitita with a tone of voice that was filled with both scorn and hatred, "And I sure hope she claws you REAL good!"

"Chiquitita," called Mars, "get…"

But before he could say 'back', an enraged squawk erupted out of Nigel's beak, before the cockatoo got up, quickly rushed at Chiquitita and raked the claws of one his talons across Chiquitita's stomach. The diminutive green-winged macaw cried in agony and fell over.

"CHIQUITITA!" cried Mars while Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre screamed. Nigel then looked on with the most maniacal eyes Mars and the others had ever seen as Mars went over to see to his injured mate. Chiquitita was lying on her left side, her face twisted in pain and her wings clasped onto her stomach. A red stain had begun to form on her blue wing flight feathers.

"That is what will happen if you step out of line," growled Nigel with scorn, sadism and threat, his left cheek bleeding slightly from Chiquitita's claw marks. "That is only a minor taste of what you will face either from me or the falcons. Now OBEY our ORDERS or YOU'LL BE KILLED!"

He practically screeched those words as he finished this sentence. Then Nigel turned and left to see if all the cages had been packed. Ceres and Cobalto looked on as Chiquitita curled up on the floor in pain from Nigel's attack to her stomach, Mars, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre gathered round and Venus and Mercury timidly looking on.

"I thought he was gonna claw you to death at first," murmured Cobalto.

"We'd better not lash at Nigel or any of the others like that again," said Ceres warily, "Or one of us is potentially gonna get killed."

She then shuddered at the memory of almost facing that at the clutches of Brutus when she had bitten one of his owners years ago, and didn't want to see Nigel behave like that savage cat. Mars continued looking over Chiquitita as she continued to hold her scratch, before shooting a sad and despairing gaze at Cobalto and Ceres and then at Mercury and Venus.

"Then we're trapped in a big dilemma, you two," he murmured darkly, "I have a feeling that Nigel is gonna be behaving like Brutus: violent and feral when angered, and we're under the claws of those falcons, crows and cats in addition. But then that wretched cockatoo will be using this opportunity to pick on us, especially Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago, and Mercury and Venus with the rest of us kept in check…"

Mars shuddered as he imagined what Nigel might be like if he got angry. Similar to Brutus, Nigel was extremely aggressive whenever he lost his temper he would never enter a seriously feral state like Brutus did. But Mars knew that things might be different now. Nigel was an extremely dangerous cockatoo with an even worse temper, especially now that he was bent on getting revenge on Blu and his family for his loss of the ability of flight and the misery he had suffered. And this time, Nigel was not going to let anyone get in his way or go against him, and if anyone were to stand in his way or resist, he will not hesitate to use his beak and claws. Then another thought hit Mars as he recalled what Nigel said to Blu and Jewel in the attic. What did that foul cockatoo mean by putting them 'though the same ordeal Blu and Jewel have both put him through'? Mars didn't want to think of what Nigel had in mind in regard to this, but he felt that it was something diabolical but thankfully, Nigel did not have plans on killing any of them.

As the birds continued to be loaded into the wheelbarrows, five animals were watching the activities of Nigel and the cats and their new falcon and crow friends and owners from behind a bush. Catina, Ginger, Dash, Avellana and James watched with horror written all over their faces. When Dash, Avellana and James had managed to escape during the skirmish, they had left to find Catina and Ginger, but they had not escaped unscathed. All three bore scratches, cuts and bald patches from torn out fur from the fight, but Avellana looked worse than her brother and father. Many of her marks were larger or more serious for she had been combating one of the falcons, and she looked in some pain. But despite the pain from their cuts and bruises, the three greyhounds had managed to find Catina and Ginger as they were returning from their walk and private 'female pet' talk; Dash had explained everything that was happening at home. Ginger and Catina had immediately known that trouble was afoot back at Susan and Lucy's house based on the battered and shaken state of the three greyhounds and had rushed off, followed by Dash, Avellana and James. However, the five were forced to dive into hiding behind a large bush when they saw a large cloaked object. Upon examining the cloaked object properly, Catina had immediately deduced that under the cloak were a group of thieves, for she had used a disguise like that before with Jack, Jill and some of the other cats to sneak up to and then into Tulio's Aviary to steal birds when she, Jack and Jill used to work for Frank.

As the five continued to watch Nigel's group from behind the bush, Catina caught sighted a familiar bird with the ragged yellow crest and green and yellow vest. The moment her eyes landed on the bird, rage tore through her like flames through a flammable gas. Her fur puffed out and she let loose a small hiss.

"Nigel," the calico growled under her breath, "So, he and his cat friends have apparently joined that new group of thieves, have they?"

"That's Nigel?" asked Ginger. She had never seen the infamous psychopathic cockatoo known as Nigel in the flesh before, and Dash, Avellana and James had only briefly met him before making their escape to fetch her and Catina.

"Yes it is," explained Catina darkly, "He's that cockatoo whom Blu would have told you about. He used to work for a group of smugglers and he used to torture and abuse any exotic bird imprisoned in the smugglers' den and during their removal from Brazil. I'm surprised he's managed to survive being pulverised by a plane's propeller…"

"Nigel turned to detest exotic birds after a parakeet displaced him from a film career years ago, didn't he?" asked Dash. Catina nodded to confirm that this was right.

"Looks like they've finished with whatever they had been up to in there," said Avellana. At this, the other four's eyes turned to the cloaked group. All the animals were stood outside; talking with one of the falcons whom Catina deduced was the group leader.

"That's a peregrine falcon," said Avellana, using her knowledge of species to identify the six falcons' species, "And those black birds are crows. They look highly dangerous."

"They are, especially if you're a small bird like a pigeon," said Dash, "I've heard that they could reach over 200mph during a vertical dive."

"But them as pets of poachers," said Ginger in puzzlement, "Why would a group of poachers have falcons?"

Then next, the five animals saw Nigel and his group hop into the wheelbarrows under the cloaks and the cloaked unit move away from the door. The calico and four greyhounds ducked behind the bush as the cloaked unit walked past their hiding spot. The five looked out and watched the cloaked unit move like a black ghost down the street. Catina then formulated a plan in her head.

"Right," said Catina, "Here's what we're going to do, I'll go after that cloaked group and find out where their hideout is, and try and rescue those imprisoned macaws, while the rest of you go inside our owners' house and check on Veggie and the others…"

At this, Ginger shot the calico an angry look.

"You can't go after that bunch of thieves all by yourself, Catina," she snapped, "That is extremely unwise. What if you ended up caught?"

"And besides that, Otis and his group could get you," added Dash, "Haven't you recognised those cats among that group of animals as they were loading our feathered friends into that cloak?"

Catina looked at the light grey greyhound and deduced that he could be right. Otis and his gang were bent on seeking revenge on her after her abandonment and betrayal of them and leaving them to be caught and taken to a pets' rehoming centre. However, Catina was not aware of Otis and his gang's plans of revenge yet.

"I am aware of the risks involved, you two, and I appreciate your concerns," Catina said adamantly, "But I am not going to leave our feathered friends to face torture and abuse from those animals, especially Nigel," she stole a glance from the cloaked unit as it receded into the distance and then back at Dash and Ginger, "And besides that, I have years of stealth experience on my side built up during my life as a smuggler's cat. That will come in handy when I follow those thieves and see what they are up to…"

Dash and Ginger continued gazing at Catina for a while longer. They were concerned for the calico's safety and weren't sure whether to let her go along with the idea. Finally, Dash relented.

"Okay, but be _very careful!"_ he growled seriously, "And make sure not to put one paw wrong."

"Exactly," said Avellana, "Especially in the direct gaze of the falcons. If those vicious birds spot you, you might not stand a chance."

She then looked at her tattered and scratched pelage (fur) and shuddered. Catina nodded, acknowledging Avellana and Dash's warnings. She then quickly rushed off after the cloaked unit before they receded too far into the distance.

"You four go inside and check on the wellbeing of Veggie and the others," shouted Catina as she left, "And also make sure to go and alert Susan and Lucy and possibly Tulio if you can. It's important that they know as soon as possible."

And with that, she disappeared down the street after the cloaked unit, leaving Dash, Ginger, Avellana and James to run for Susan and Lucy's house. The four greyhounds entered the cat/dog flap whose door had been torn off and then entered the hallway. Ginger examined the cat/dog flap's door that lay to the side like a discarded piece of plastic.

"Good grief," she murmured as she brushed it with a paw, "It must have taken some effort to pull this thing off its hinges."

"That was caused by one of the intruders that attacked us," said Dash, "I don't know who managed to rip that flap off its hinges but those intruders had been forceful in their entry."

Ginger then followed her mate, Avellana and James and then entered the kitchen and living room through the hallway door. The moment the four passed through the door, a sharp gasp was drawn in through Ginger's mouth when her eyes were greeted with the carnage that had befallen the kitchen and living room during the intruders' skirmish with Dash's group. However, the four were greeted by more screeches and gasps, but these were of relief, not of awareness. Dash, at this, darted his head in the direction of the sounds and saw five cats and three greyhounds bound in.

"Dash, Avellana, James, Ginger!" cried the cat at the front, Veggie. Close behind him were Danny, Eduarda and Esperanza.

"Dad, Mom, Avellana, James," called all three at the same time. And behind them were Broccoli, Collette, Daisy and Thomas. Broccoli hobbled along due to his bitten paw. As soon as the group of mammals had met, they locked each other in a group embrace. Ginger was especially relieved to see all four of her first-litter puppies alive, alongside her tabby cat friend and his four grown-up kittens.

"When Dash told us what was happening at home," she cried, tears of relief and joy streaming down her face as she hugged Eduarda, Esperanza and Danny, and Broccoli, Collette, Thomas and Daisy with her front paws, "I had been worried-sick! I'm glad you're alright."

Eduarda, Esperanza and Danny and the adult kittens returned their hug and as soon as the cats and dogs had broken the hug, Ginger's eyes caught sighted the scratch on Eduarda's side and the bite wound on Broccoli's left front paw. At this, she drew in another sharp gasp.

"What happened!?" she asked horrified.

"That was Nigel's doing," growled Veggie angrily, "Broccoli and Eduarda were trying to protect Carla, Bia and Tiago but Nigel viciously attacked them. He clawed Eduarda down the side and bitten Broccoli's front paw…"

"We need to get that checked up at the vet's now," shouted Ginger angrily, her moods caused by her hormones rising to the surface again, "I hope those wounds aren't too serious…"

"I actually thought that cockatoo was going to break his paw when I heard Broccoli emit an ear-piercing scream," said Veggie, hot rage flaring within him as he recalled the agony Nigel put Broccoli through during the skirmish. He was barely restraining his anger but it began to manifest itself through his eyes and facial expression. "That cockatoo's a savage vulture, honestly. He bit Broccoli's paw pretty hard."

Then Ginger finally let her own anger get the better of her. She stormed over to a piece of apple core that had fallen out of an overturned bin and swiped it hard with a paw.

"If I EVER meet that cockatoo, I'm gonna TURN HIM INTO A CHEW TOY!" she barked at the top of her voice. "NO-ONE ATTACKS MY OFFSPRING OR THE OFFSPRING OF MY FRIENDS LIKE THAT and GETS AWAY WITH IT!"

The five adolescent puppies flinched at their mother's rage. Danny quickly dived behind Dash and cowered behind him. Then Ginger stormed past the group and retreated to her bed to get through the outburst. The others looked on.

"Impeccable timing for something like this to happen," muttered Dash angrily. Then Veggie noticed Catina was missing.

"Where's Catina?" he asked. Dash loomed at him.

"She's gone after the intruders," he said. At this, dread and horror washed through Veggie and the other nine.

"What!?" snapped Veggie incredulously.

"Mom has gone after those vicious pieces of work by HERSELF!?" shouted Collette.

"But she could get killed if she ever gets spotted," added Danny.

"And those falcons and that cockatoo are VICIOUS!" put in Broccoli. He winced from the pain from his badly bitten paw and began to lick it.

"Not to mention that awful black and white cat's burning passion to avenge her for her abandonment of him and his group," added Daisy. She, her four siblings and the adolescent greyhound pups were aware of Catina's past as a smuggler's cat which she had told them about when they were young. Avellana walked in, wincing from the pain emanating from her scratches.

"She's going to find out where this new group of thieves are hiding and rescue our feathered friends," she explained. Then Veggie lightened up.

"Well, I hope she knows what she is doing," he said, "After all, Catina is very stealthy after spending most of her life as a smuggler's cat. How could she have caught so many birds during that career before she decided to give it up to become a housecat and my mate?"

"That's true," said Dash, "Looks like the skills that Catina had picked up from a negative life like a smuggler's cat might become useful in a situation like this…"

Then Dash looked around for someone else. "Wait, where are Travis and his family?" he asked.

"They have been taken by those intruders too," said Veggie, "I don't know why but…"

"As soon as they had taken away all the caged macaws and the cockatoo family," explained Thomas, "We were released from our cages and our cages taken away. However, we could not go after those intruders under the threat of getting killed by the falcons as the group retreated."

"But as the six falcons threatened us," said Veggie, "I noticed that one of them had a look of remorse and sadness on its face. It gave us that same look as it followed its comrades to outside and it made me wonder…"

"Maybe that falcon doesn't agree with what her groupmates are doing?" asked Dash but then he moved onto the most important subject. "Anyway, that's not important. We need to alert Susan and Lucy, and Tulio right away."

"Why Tulio, Dad?" asked Esperanza.

"Because those macaws have been stolen by those thieves," said Dash.

"You saw our feathered friends get taken away?" asked Veggie.

"We were outside watching the whole thing," said Avellana, "And we caught a few glimpses of flashes of colour in some of those cages, including blue and turquoise."

Then dread hit Veggie as an idea of what the occupation of Cazador and his gang's owners could be, and based on Cazador's explanation of their plan, entered his head.

"Those falcons and crows' owners are likely to be a gang of poachers," he said.

"What?" asked Dash.

"Those falcons and crows' owners are likely to be poachers," repeated Veggie, "When we were locked in those cages in the attic, the lead falcon explained to us what his owners will be doing and how they are going to infiltrate the Sanctuary de Amazon…"

"What?" snapped James in disbelief.

"Wait, explain everything that falcon told you to us," said Dash. So Veggie did. He explained everything Cazador had told him and the others including the macaws and Travis and his family as much as he could. He told Dash how Cazador and his group's owners were going to disguise as ecologists to distract Tulio and his team and go about stealing as many of the Spix, Lear's and glaucous macaws as possible, and other important details. On the dogs' bed, Ginger listened and reacted in horror. When Veggie had finished explaining as much as he could to Dash, the male greyhound's mouth hung open in horror.

"Tulio DEFINITELY needs to be alerted then," he said seriously, "We can't let those poachers go ahead with those devious plans."

"But who will do that?" asked James. Dash shot a glare to his oldest son and middle first-litter puppy. "You're with me James," he said firmly. James, at first, hesitated but then nodded in obedience. Then Dash chose Esperanza to come with him and James and Esperanza joined his side. Then Daisy said, "Can I come, Dash?"

"No, Daisy," said Dash as he, Esperanza and James prepared to leave for Tulio's Aviary. "We're going to Tulio's Aviary, and that place is strictly forbidden to cats. You stay here and help your father tend to your brother Broccoli and also Eduarda and help them treat their injuries."

Daisy was about to protest but then admitted defeat. Dash then shot Veggie, Broccoli, Collette, Thomas, Eduarda, Avellana and Danny and said, "We'll not be long. You lot stay here and try and treat your wounds and clean up some of this mess if you can."

Veggie and the others nodded and with that, the three greyhounds rushed off for the destroyed cat/dog flap. But before leaving, Dash said to Ginger, "We'll be right back. You get some rest."

Ginger nodded and said firmly, "You be careful."

But Dash, James and Esperanza had already disappeared out of the cat/dog flap.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16- difficult situations**

The cloaked group, which were Nigel, Cazador and their group with three of Lysandre's grunts pushing the wheelbarrows containing the caged macaws and cockatoos, continued moving like a spooky black object down the street. The group was careful not to enter a seriously busy street where a lot of people were present. Though the thieves were hidden by the cloak, if anyone saw a large black ghost-like thing seemingly gliding down the footpath or sidewalk would have suspicion bubble within them, so the cloaked group chose a route where fewer pedestrians and vehicles were present. In the wheelbarrows, the frightened and angered macaws and cockatoos were kept under strict watch by the falcons, crows and cats who made sure that none of them let loose loud squawks. Nigel was standing by Pluto and his family, his mate Lapis Lazuli and chicks Charon, Blueberry, Flor and Quincy, feeding on the joy of taunting the glaucous macaw family with threats and intimidating looks and postures. While Pluto and the four chicks were frightened by the sickly cockatoo's menacing leers and comments, Lapis Lazuli looked back with bitterness and disgust glinting in her eyes. In an adjacent cage to Pluto and his family's, Neptune, Ultramarine, Triton and Indigo could only look on for they were under strict watch from Moggy and two other cats who had their claws poised to scratch them if they ever rebuked Nigel. All the macaw families and Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa, those that weren't Spix, Lear's or glaucous macaws, were kept under watch by more cats, the cockatoos and the falcons who threatened to claw them if they misbehaved even in the slightest. It truly was an extremely difficult ordeal for the adult macaws, especially when their chicks wouldn't stop whimpering and crying with fright. Zephyr and Sapphire struggled to keep their chicks quiet as well, despite shouts from their cat watchers, and Swoop who had been put in charge of watching these macaws to shut up 'their irritating whining'. In Zephyr's wings, Justin, Charlotte and Matilda kept allowing frightened squeaks to emit from their beaks. Zephyr tried his best to keep these three quiet, with Virgil, who didn't whine as much, helping. Zephyr's mind was filled with thoughts about Venus who was in another wheelbarrow but his main focus was on his chicks.

"Shhh," he said gently to Justin and his two sisters, hugging them close to him, "Please try and be quiet."

He then stole glances from the piercing eyes from the cats and Swoop as they continued watching them. Sapphire also tried keeping Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette quiet.

"Please try to cut your moaning," she said in a low voice but the three daughters wouldn't stop whining.

"But I'm scared, Mom?" moaned Phoebe, tears of fright streaming down her cheeks.

"We wanna be outa here," moaned Jasmine. Annette then began to let loose sobs. Sapphire stole glances from the watchful eyes of the cats and Swoop and began to feel her nerves buzz with fear.

"Will you tell those chicks of yours to shut up, feather head," snarled one of the cats. At this, Sapphire's head jerked up and she saw the speaker, the male black cat, glare at her with irritated eyes. He pointed a paw at the three chicks in Sapphire's wings.

"Shut those three chicks up, now," he snarled impatiently. The other cats made their irritation and impatience clear by leers in their faces. Sapphire did so and tried to quieten her daughters but they were too scared to get their whimpering and sobbing under control. Zephyr also struggled with three of his four chicks, especially Matilda who was crying her eyes out like a frightened human baby. Suddenly, a paw bashed against Zephyr and his chicks' cage. He and Virgil looked up and saw Tom striking their cage with a paw, an angry and impatient glint in his eyes.

"You chicks' wails are irritating us, blue macaw," snarled Tom, "Get them to shut up RIGHT NOW!"

He then shot Sapphire the same glare and growled, "You too, Lear's macaw!"

Zephyr and Sapphire tried to but to no avail. Virgil cuddled and tried to calm his unusually small little sister. Nearby Zephyr and Sapphire and their chicks, Saturn and his family looked on with sympathy but could no nothing for they were under the strict watch of more cats and crows. One of the crows had its talon prepared to attack Saturn and Orquidea should they speak out. Saturn was barely holding his temper in check while Orquidea had made sure that all seven of her chicks were kept quiet. Seeing two of his friends under immense pressure to keep their frightened and sobbing chicks under control and struggling with it made Saturn's blood boil and swirl like the storms of his namesake planet.

"I hope your chicks are keeping quiet as well," said one of the cats, a female all-brown cat with her paws poised to scratch Saturn or Orquidea, "Or else you will be scratched. Cazador has given us permission to attack you if you allow your chicks to emit irritating sobs and groans."

Saturn, at this, shuddered but inside, his temper boiled like a pot of water. Then suddenly, he flinched when he heard Tom's voice bellow.

"Will you TELL YOUR CHICKS to SHUT THEIR IRRITATING SQUEAKS!" yelled the cat, thumping Zephyr and Sapphire's cages with several hard strikes with his paw.

"Yeah, their moaning is starting to drive us around the BEND!" put in Swoop, his feathers on end and piercing eyes boring into the male Spix macaw and female Lear's macaw. Zephyr shot Swoop a frustrated glare as Justin and Charlotte continued groaning while Matilda continued crying in Virgil's wings. Sapphire did the same as her three daughters continued moaning and crying.

"They're too frightened," snapped Zephyr stressfully, "And besides that, you lot staring at us is not helping!"

"If only our mates were here with us," put in Sapphire as she tried to keep Phoebe from uttering an ear-piercing cry. From the background as she stood by Saturn and his family's cage, Cometa looked on with a sympathetic look on her face. She wished she could intervene but could not for she could get herself into trouble and Cazador did issue her a strong warning if she helped the caged birds. As Zephyr and Sapphire continued to struggle to keep their chicks quiet, in another wheelbarrow, Sunset, Travis and Eustace, Mio and Rosa sat in their cage under the watchful eyes of more crows. Sunset had her wings protectively around Eustace, Milo and Rosa as they timidly huddled against their Major Mitchell's mother, their eyes closed and faces buried in her feathers. However, unlike Zephyr and Sapphire's chicks, they were quiet which Travis and Sunset were glad for. While Sunset continued huddling her chicks in one corner of the cage, Travis looked warily and bitterly around at the leering faces of the crows.

"I don't believe those creeps would include us in their catch," he muttered under his breath ad he looked around, "Why would they include us?"

"To answer that question, young sulfur-crested cockatoo," said a grating and oily voice, drawing Travis's attention in the owner's direction. If it were a liquid, it would be a puddle of water grotesquely contaminated with some oil. When Travis saw who was approaching his family's cage, his bright yellow crest, brighter than the voice owner's crest feathers due to his younger age, flared and his face morphed into an acidic look. Sunset also looked up and gasped when she saw who was coming, hugging her three hybrid chicks closer to her in the process.

"What do you want, Nigel?" growled Travis bitterly as the ugly older sulfur-crested cockatoo sauntered towards the cage and stopped at the bars, his sickly and sadistic gaze glaring at the cockatoo family.

"We decided to kidnap you five because you could be worth something, especially for your hybrid chicks," crooned Nigel wickedly, his brown eyes gazing at the three chicks in Sunset's wings, but Sunset was not going to have this psychotic cockatoo glare intimidatingly at her two sons and daughter.

"Get away from us," growled the female Major Mitchell's cockatoo fiercely, her pink, red and yellow crest flared while Travis spread his wings protectively across his family. However, he was also struck with utter shock.

"Wait, you're kidnapping one of your own species as well?" he snapped in response to Nigel's answer. Nigel's eyes then turned hard and mean.

"And another thing," he growled bitterly, "It's because you are friends with these disgusting pretty birds, so you might as well come with us."

Travis, however, was unfazed by the older cockatoo's leer. "If you think you're gonna get away with it, Nigel, don't count on it," he hissed. A scoffing laugh escaped Nigel's throat.

"Oh, I could count on it alright," he crooned mockingly. He then leaned forward and shoved a tattered wing feather into Travis's face, "I can count on you lot being smuggled out of this country to be sold to especially cruel owners. I will explain more on that when we get to our new friends' group's hideout, youngster."

And with that, he left before Travis could protest. Sunset looked at him while her three chicks continued huddling against her feathers, her wings around them but Travis didn't say anything. However, he was clearly bitter and was not going to allow the older sulfur-crested cockatoo to take him and his friends out of this country against their will.

Outside the cloaked unit as it continued travelling along through a quiet street in the direction of Rio's slums, a stealthy calico cat was following them. Catina was creeping after the cloaked group, being careful not to get too close. She kept her ears pricked to the sounds emanating from under the cloak and deduced that it were the macaws and Travis and his family, and also the cats and Nigel and their new friends. As Catina continued creeping along after the cloaked group, she had all sorts of thoughts go through her mind. Catina wanted to give Nigel a piece of her mind for disobeying her strong warning about going anywhere near an exotic bird, but she was yet to hear that Nigel had done worse things, including to one of her sons Broccoli. Catina was a stealthy and crafty cat, and she had years of experience of using stealth and astuteness from her life as a smuggler's cat to call upon, and now she was going to put the skills she had developed from a life involving capturing birds to use in rescuing her feathered friends and tracking the apparent new group of smugglers' hideout. As Catina continued sneaking after the cloaked group, she listened closely as a familiar voice sounded within the cloak. It sounded oily and aged, and it had a sickly tone in it. Catina immediately knew whose voice this belonged to, but it made her fur spike out. However, she must maintain her concentration on following the cloaked group to its hideout. Pushing away the thoughts about Nigel, Catina continued to follow the group, keeping at a safe distance from them.

 **Meanwhile**

Dash, James and Esperanza had managed to find Tulio's Aviary and were now hiding behind a parked car. James and Esperanza looked at the building complex in amazement and could not believe that this was where Blu met Jewel, Mercury met Sapphire, Venus met Zephyr and Brisa and so on, but Dash had explained to them and their three siblings that this place was the centre point of bird conservation and treatment, especially of extremely rare and critically endangered species, and was the birthplace of Blu, Jewel, Zephyr, Venus, Mercury, Sapphire, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli's chicks. The other chicks were born in the jungle while Travis and Sunset's three were born in their birdhouse. Tulio's Aviary was busy today, and there were dozens of workers walking in and out of the building, some carrying birds in cages. Esperanza thought she got a glimpse of a parakeet with a broken wing carried by a woman before she disappeared through the door and into Tulio's Aviary and remembered Jewel and Zephyr's stories of how they suffered broken wings: Jewel at the clutches of Nigel and Zephyr at the paws of Brutus alongside Ruby who suffered a dislocated wing. The thought of Nigel sent shivers down Esperanza's spine and she could not believe what he had done to her sister Eduarda and Broccoli, one of her cat friends but she had to stay focussed on the most important task at the moment: alerting Susan, Lucy and Tulio. However, the three dogs had one big problem.

"Are you sure about this, Dad?" asked James, "You know that humans don't understand us."

"I'm afraid we have no choice, son," replied Dash firmly, "We MUST alert our owners and Tulio of what had happened at home."

"I hope Susan and Lucy get our message even if they might not understand our barks," murmured Esperanza. Then Dash looked hard at the crowd of people and saw two familiar women walk out of Tulio's Aviary and to the side of the building with Tulio and Linda, apparently to take a break or to chat about something. As he saw those two ladies make their way to the side, Dash saw this as an opportunity when James noticed something different about Linda's figure.

"Is Linda expecting a baby, Dad?" he asked, pointing a paw to the red-haired lady wearing glasses. Dash gazed at Linda and saw her large tummy, characteristic of pregnancy. He could tell whether a human mother was expecting or not based on her figure shape, especially when viewed from the side.

"She is," he said, making James and Esperanza pop their heads up, "We must be careful not to agitate her too much as, like female dogs and cats expecting puppies and kittens respectively, expectant human mothers can get moody really easily. Just make sure you try to keep out of Linda's way, okay?"

Esperanza and James nodded and prepared to make their appearance with Dash as the trio then sneaked out from behind the car and towards Tulio, Linda, Susan and Lucy as they talked. While the three greyhounds continued making their approach, the four humans were chatting.

"So, when is your baby due, Linda?" asked Susan as she sipped a cup of tea.

"Four months or so away," replied Linda as she smiled at her unborn child before gazing at her husband with a shining smile.

"We've been struggling to think of a name for our child," said Tulio as he sipped from a mug some coffee, "But Linda has told me that she would like to name our child Christine after her mother if it is a girl."

"I look forward to seeing it when it arrives," said Lucy with a smile and as she sipped some hot chocolate from her mug. The four tittered slightly before Lucy's gaze turned slowly to the side until it landed on three forms, all three of which were light grey. At this, shock sparked through her and the other three humans.

"What in the world!?" gasped Lucy.

"Dash, Esperanza and James!?" shouted Susan incredulously. The moment Dash, Esperanza and James saw that the four humans had spotted them; they immediately rushed in and started barking frantically at Susan and Lucy. Tulio's face then morphed from a look of shock to one of displeasing while Linda's look maintained in its surprised state.

"What are those three greyhounds doing on the aviary's premises?" growled Tulio. Susan and Lucy then put down their mugs of hot drinks and began to see to the three barking greyhounds.

"Dahs, you two," yelled Susan over the barks, "You know full well that you're not allowed on these premises!"

"You should be at home," put in Lucy. Dash, Esperanza and James continued barking frantically, desperately trying to get the message through to their owners of the incident that had taken place back home. It was then that Susan caught sighted the newly healed cuts and bruises and missing fur patches dotting the three greyhounds' light grey fur. At this, she snapped from irritation to alarm.

"Looks like something has happened to them," Susan told Lucy. Lucy, however, was too clouded by irritation and anger at the dogs' barking to hear her sister's shock. Then Tulio angrily commanded, "Get those three greyhounds back to your house this minute! Their barking could frighten the birds inside and attract the attention of the other workers from their tasks!"

Susan and Lucy obeyed and began to set to scooping up the three greyhounds who continued to bark like mad. Linda looked on and said nothing, but she wore an irritated look on her face. Susan reached her arms at Esperanza to scoop her up but Esperanza dodged and continued barking.

"Come here, you naughty girl," growled Susan angrily. Esperanza continued barking and latched her mouth onto Susan's sleeve to pull her along while James and Dash continued barking to Lucy and dodging her attempts to grab them.

"It's no use, Dad," cried James during the profuse barking, "They don't understand us."

"Just keep trying," snapped Dash and continued barking. James did so and resumed barking. Tulio then got a glimpse of the cuts and bruises and patches of missing fur marking the three greyhounds' bodies.

"And I suggest you take those three to the vet's as well," he yelled over the profuse barks, his hands over his ears in an effort to shield them from the row Dash, James and Esperanza made, "Looks like they've been fighting or something."

Susan and Lucy then lashed out with their arms and finally caught the three greyhounds, Lucy with Esperanza and Susan with Dash and James, one in each arm. Then the two ladies began to make their way back home with Tulio yelling after them, "And make sure you discipline those dogs of yours and get back here as soon as you can as well."

Soon, both Susan and Lucy were walking at a fast pace down the streets on route back to their house with Dash, James and Esperanza barking profusely all the way. The dogs' barking had attracted an unwanted attention much to the embarrassment of Susan and Lucy, so they kept yelling orders to the three dogs like "Shut up" and "Be quiet". It clearly was an embarrassing situation for Susan and Lucy, carrying three greyhounds barking like mad along, and some of the passers-by actually laughed when they saw the spectacle. Susan and Lucy picked up their paces in an effort to get back to their house quicker, but they were not prepared for the horrors that lay within their house once they get inside.

Back at Susan and Lucy's house, Veggie, Collette, Thomas, Daisy, Danny and Avellana were trying to clean up some of the mess made by Nigel and his group while Ginger, Eduarda and Broccoli lay in their beds. Ginger was talking with Eduarda her oldest daughter while Broccoli lay by himself in his and his three siblings' bed, his painfully bitten paw dangling over the edge of the rim. He was replaying the events that had happened during the skirmish with Nigel and Otis and their gang and new falcon and crow friends, including how Nigel had attacked him and Eduarda as they tried protecting Carla, Bia and Tiago. As the Veggie-lookalike son lay in his bed, a flash of an image of Collette and Daisy being fiercely chased around the kitchen by two of Otis's minions, resulting in plates being knocked off the sink's drying zone and onto the floor in a series of smashes, played in his head for a few seconds. Then an image of Veggie trying to fight off some of the crows played, followed by Avellana as she combated one of the falcons, before escaping with Dash and James to fetch Catina and Ginger. Back to reality, Broccoli opened his eyes and stared at his badly bitten paw, and an image of himself and Eduarda trying to protect Carla, Bia and Tiago from the disgusting cockatoo Nigel began to play.

 _Nigel chased after Carla, Bia and Tiago around the living room, knocking over two of the vases and sending them smashing onto the floor by the hearth, a cage in wing ready to grab the three terrified chicks._

" _Come here, you three little blue brats!" snarled the cockatoo furiously, his pale yellow crest raised and feathers puffed out, but Carla, Bia and Tiago continued flying away from him, terrified looks on their faces and screams erupting from their beaks. When Eduarda and Broccoli saw Nigel chase after Blu and Jewel's chicks, they immediately took action. Eduarda charged at Nigel and tackled into him, knocking the cockatoo down while Broccoli ran for Carla, Bia and Tiago and scooped them up in his forepaws._

" _Don't you DARE hurt those three chicks, you CREEP!" barked Eduarda and with that, she raised a paw and swiped Nigel across the face to knock him down again. Nigel, at this, got up and dodged another swipe that flew in from Eduarda. Eduarda was barking fiercely at the cockatoo. For the first time in her life, she was furious and defensive. Her hair was spiked out as though she had had an electric shock, and her eyes were hazel flames. However, the fiendish cockatoo was unfazed by the young greyhound's fierce growl and furious and defensive pose. As Nigel approached, Eduarda increased her growling intensity, and threatened to bite the cockatoo. In the background, Broccoli was trying to carry Carla, Bia and Tiago to safety when he saw that Eduarda was locked in a fiery confrontation with Nigel. Then as soon as Nigel was stood a foot away from the young greyhound, he and Eduarda locked glares as though ready to fight._

" _You know what happens if anyone messes with me, dog," snarled the cockatoo, his crest fully raised and his feathers on end._

" _I don't care about that, you creep!" snapped Eduarda bitterly, "YOU oughta know what happens if you mess with my friends, especially the chicks of Blu and Jewel…"_

 _Eduarda's mentioning of Nigel's two most detested macaws sent hot rage burning through the cockatoo, and he exploded into a violent temper._

" _Those two blue macaws ARE MY MOST DETESTED BLUE BIRDS ON THIS PLANET!" screeched the cockatoo and with that, he jumped up and leaped at Eduarda, talons poised to attack. Eduarda gasped, threat replaced by fear in a heartbeat and covered her head protectively with her front paws. An extremely loud howl erupted from Eduarda's mouth as she felt searing pain shoot from her side. Carla, Bia and Tiago screamed while Broccoli gasped. Then within seconds, Eduarda was lying on her side, a paw grasping her side where Nigel had slashed a talon into her skin. Then some drops of blood oozed through Eduarda's paw digits and the greyhound's face was twisted in agony. Nigel looked on with sadistic eyes before turning his attention to Broccoli as he sat on a window-ledge, looking on in utter horror. Seeing the flashes of blue in his front paws, the cockatoo rushed off after him. A wild chase then started up between Broccoli who had Carla, Bia and Tiago, and Nigel who had a cage. In the process, Carla's Ipod along with Justin's were smashed as Nigel chased after Broccoli. Around the kitchen and living room, the fight between Veggie, Daisy, Collette, Thomas and Danny and Otis and his gang, the falcons and crows continued to rage. Broccoli continued fleeing from Nigel with Carla, Bia and Tiago in his paws until finally, he found himself cornered by the evil cockatoo. Broccoli, at this, gazed back at the cockatoo with brown eyes flooded with fear as he, crest fully raised and eyes bulging and burning like brown flames, paced towards him, a cage in a wing. Carla, Bia and Tiago cowered in Broccoli's paws as Broccoli huddled them protectively close to him._

" _Now, hand me those three little blue birds, cat, NOW!" snarled Nigel in an acidic voice. Broccoli refused and kept the three terrified chicks close to him._

" _Not a chance, you foul parrot," he retorted, courage briefly replacing his fear, "You know what the parents of these three chicks will do if you EVER hurt them!"_

 _Nigel, at this, finally snapped._

" _THEN I'LL MAKE YOU!" he bellowed, his body poised to leap at Broccoli, "NOW give me THOSE CHICKS RIGHT NOW!"_

 _And with that, Nigel's talons heaved the rest of the cockatoo's body off the floor and sent him flying towards Broccoli, his beak opened wide ready to bite the cat. Broccoli, at this, raised his left front paw but before he could swipe it across Nigel's face to send him flying, Nigel's beak connected with it first. An ear-piercing cat screech of agony erupted and carried through the entire living room and kitchen as Nigel's beak clamped ever harder onto Broccoli's paw. Veggie heard his son's cries of agony as he continued fighting a group of crows._

" _BROCCOLI!" he yelled. Then after Nigel had tasted Broccoli's blood, he released the cat's paw, and looked on sadistically as Broccoli accidentally released Carla, Bia and Tiago and grabbed his bitten paw as blood dripped from it. Then the next thing Broccoli knew; several pairs of cat paws and crow talons appeared and shoved him into a cage._

As the playback of the disturbing scene ended, Broccoli gazed down at his bitten paw once again. It was still red raw and hurt a lot but at least it had stopped bleeding and the forelimb was still extremely painful. The mark of Nigel's beak where the cockatoo had bitten him ran back and forth where the wrist would be, but it sent shooting pain through Broccoli's wrist each time he moved it even an inch. Then Broccoli remembered Nigel bringing up the cage containing Carla and Bia into the attic and giving them a real fright by screeching them extremely loudly right into their faces with his eyes bulging and crest fully raised. A tear ran down Broccoli's cheek as he remembered the terrified looks on the two sisters' faces and heard the maniacal laughter of the sickly cockatoo.

"I hope Blu and Jewel really show that cockatoo what for after they hear what he had done to their two daughters," murmured the cat bitterly under his breath. As Broccoli continued to go over the horrific ordeal Nigel and his gang and new friends have put him and his group through, Veggie's voice reached his ears.

"Hi, Broccoli, son," said Veggie as he approached the side of his offspring's bed. Broccoli, at this, looked up and established eye contact with his near-identical looking dad. "How are you doing?" asked Veggie, a paw gently stroking Broccoli's cheek. Broccoli sighed.

"Just been going over the past hour, Dad," he murmured sombrely, "Including Nigel's attack on me and Eduarda…"

Veggie made a sour face when Broccoli mentioned Nigel.

"I know, I saw what he did to you when you tried protecting Blu and Jewel's chicks," he growled, his fur spiked out slightly.

"But I wish I had done better," moaned Broccoli, wincing from the pain in his paw's wrist, "I wish I had done more to protect Carla and her brother and sister.

"But son, you ought to be proud of yourself," said Veggie, "You tried your best to defend Carla, Bia and Tiago from being caught by that cockatoo but sadly, you paid quite a nasty price."

Broccoli's mouth fell slightly more and his injured paw lifted off the rim of his and his siblings' bed. Broccoli's face twisted in pain as he lifted it. Veggie, with a sigh, examined the paw closer. The sight of the painful injury where Nigel's beak had sunken into Broccoli's flesh, and its raging redness made Veggie's stomach wobble slightly. However, Veggie was glad that it had stopped bleeding but he was still concerned about the possibility of any bones in Broccoli's forelimb being broken for Nigel had bitten him so hard. Then Veggie turned his attention back to his son.

"Well, when Susan and Lucy get home, Broc," he said, "We'll get you and Eduarda to the vet's as quickly as we can and we'll perhaps look at your forelimb with an X-ray to see if there are any broken bones."

"What's an X-ray?" asked Broccoli.

"It's a medical device used for imaging bones," said Veggie, "It gives doctors and vets a clearer picture about, for example, a broken bone in an arm or a leg without being damagingly invasive."

Veggie smiled proudly and said, "Useful things, X-rays are. The scientist who discovered them should be honoured."

"Maybe God created X-rays so that they could be used for medical purposes," said Broccoli with a slight smile. Veggie smiled and nodded in agreement. Then he looked up at Ginger as she continued talking with Eduarda.

"How's Eduarda scratch, Ginger?" he asked.

"It looks very painful," said Ginger as Eduarda lay beside her on her left side. It was too painful to lie on her right due to the scratch Nigel had inflicted her, and the claw marks looked angry and raw. Veggie then breathed a sigh of relief and went over to Ginger.

"I'm so glad you and Catina had been absent when Nigel and his gang intruded into here," he said, "Had you both not left, Catina would have been badly injured because of Otis and his cat gang's desire to avenge her for the death pf Brutus and her leaving of them and your unborn puppies would have been seriously jeopardised."

"Otis pressured you into telling him where Catina was?" asked Ginger.

"He did," said Veggie, "But I made up a story to divert his attention away from Catina's whereabouts as there was no way I was going to betray her to her former groupmates."

"It's a good thing you did," said Ginger, "If those cats are after getting revenge on her that badly, it's a good thing you diverted them."

She then sighed and looked down at her large abdomen containing her next litter of her and Dash's pups. "I just hope Catina knows what she is doing as she tracks that group and their new owners and find out where their hideout is."

Veggie nodded. He knew that Catina would have built up experience in using stealth during her time as a smuggler's cat, and had trust in her.

"I just hope she can find and rescue our feathered friends before Nigel does any more emotional damage to them, especially Venus and Mercury," he said, his face turned away as he thought about what horror those two macaws will be facing, "And also locate this new group of poachers' hideout…"

Suddenly, the clicking of the front door's locking mechanism cut Veggie off, and he, Ginger and Eduarda looked up. Broccoli also looked up but slowly due to the pain in his injured paw. Then the door opened and in came two women carrying three light grey greyhounds. The smaller lady shut the door as soon as she was in the house. Veggie, his face lit up with hope, left Ginger's side and bounded over to meet Susan and Lucy as they carried the greyhounds, which were Dash, Esperanza and James, through the hallway. However, his face fell when he saw the annoyed and angry looks on Susan and Lucy's face, added with what they said next and the tones of voice their used.

"Now you will STAY here and DO as you're TOLD!" growled Lucy as she placed Esperanza onto the floor and Susan did the same to Dash and James. The three greyhounds tried to bark again but Susan snapped, "SHUT UP! You three have been bad dogs today!"

Dash and his son and daughter then shut their mouths. Then Susan angrily left to check the kitchen and living room while Lucy walked over to Ginger, Eduarda and Broccoli. Veggie dodged her stomping feet and ran to meet Dash, Esperanza and James who wore exasperated and disappointed looks on their faces.

"That went well," said James flatly.

"Did you manage to alert Tulio as well?" asked Veggie.

"Yes, but…" began Dash when suddenly; an ear-piercing scream cut him off. At this, the three greyhounds and cat all jumped and looked in the direction of the hallway door.

"LUCY, COME AND HAVE A LOOK AT THIS!" cried Susan's voice from through the door. At these words erupted from Susan's mouth, a ginger coloured blur rocketed into the hallway through the door. Danny then made a beeline for Ginger and dived behind her, frightened by Susan's terrified scream. Then Avellana, Collette, Thomas and Daisy timidly appeared and hurried off for the beds, running by Lucy. Then Lucy left Ginger's side upon hearing her sister's horrified scream and ran through the hallway door. Veggie, Dash, James and Esperanza cautiously followed while Broccoli, Ginger and Eduarda watched. Collette, Avellana, Daisy and Thomas sat by Broccoli while Danny timidly peered an eye out from behind Ginger. Then the group heard a sharp breath get drawn in by Lucy.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD HAPPENED!?" she screamed. Danny continued cowering behind his mother's body, shaking as he watched the forms of Susan and Lucy begin to survey the carnage-like living room and kitchen. Dash went over to his younger son to comfort him. He had a look of thunder on his face at the intruders.

"Look, you've done nothing wrong, Danny," Dash said, barely able to control his temper, "It was them bunch of intruding creeps led by that tacky cockatoo and his new friends that have caused this."

"But we were the ones who unintentionally caused all the mess, Dad!" sobbed Danny, frightful tears falling from his eyes. "If we hadn't panicked and did what you said when we saw those intruders, we wouldn't have been in this mess."

"I doubt that would have made a difference," said Ginger, her mood about to boil again, "Those intruders still would have turned the living room and kitchen into a pigsty-like mess searching for you and Carla, Bia and Tiago."

Dash sighed. Then suddenly, footsteps pounded on the carpet as Lucy strode through the hallway door towards the dogs and cats. Esperanza and James had joined Thomas, Broccoli, Avellana, Collette and Daisy and when they saw the look of thunder on Lucy's face, they cowered.

"You lot are in SERIOUS TROUBLE, you BAD CATS AND DOGS!" snarled Lucy angrily, her furious eyes raking all twelve mammals, "You have…"

But when her eyes landed on Broccoli's injured paw, she gasped and rushed over to the adult cat's side. Esperanza, James, Thomas, Broccoli, Avellana, Collette and Daisy backed away as Lucy approached Broccoli to examine his paw. Avellana was about to step forward but Veggie stopped her with an outstretched paw across her front legs. Then as soon as she had examined Broccoli's injured paw and then checked Eduarda's scratch, Lucy called, "Susan, call the vet's we have an injured cat and dog here!"

Susan, at this, pulled out her mobile phone and began to call the vet's for an emergency entry. As she did this, Lucy turned her furious gaze back at the twelve mammals.

"I am appalled with you lot," she growled, "I can't believe you turned our house into a bombsite and have been fighting..."

At this, Dash let loose a disagreeing bark while Collette came forward and brandished a feather she had kept as evidence that the carnage in the kitchen and living room was not the cats and greyhounds' fault. It was a ragged white-grey feather that had been dropped by Nigel during the skirmish. However, Lucy was too blinded by anger and alarm for Broccoli and Eduarda's wellbeing to take notice.

"Susan," said Lucy through the hallway door, "I'm going to fetch two cages to take Broccoli and Eduarda in while you contact the vet's."

Susan nodded and continued waiting for a reply from the vet's while Lucy left upstairs to get two cages. On the way, she commanded the cats and dogs, "You lot stay right there!"

The group flinched at this. Then as Lucy disappeared upstairs, Veggie looked on, his fur puffed out in anger and a look of thunder on his face.

"Nigel REALLY has crossed the line in EVERY aspect," he snarled, "First he intrudes into our home with a bunch of bandit animals, then he injures my son and one of Dash and Ginger's daughters, cages and traumatised Blu and Jewel's daughters, torments our feathered friends and now he leaves us to take the blame for the mess they had caused us!? That cockatoo's sick in the head, honestly."

"Let's just focus on getting Broccoli and Eduarda to the vet's," said Dash. He then gazed at the cuts and bruises marking his body and the others apart from Ginger, "We might want to be taken to the vet's as well to get these looked at."

"I don't think your cuts and bruises are that serious to be checked out," said Ginger. Dash glanced at her as Daisy walked in, wrath clearly storming her face.

"Susan and Lucy haven't fully examined the evidence to conclude who the REAL mess makers were," she snarled. She seemed to have inherited Catina's short-tempered streak.

"Look, your brother and Eduarda need their injuries looking at," said Veggie firmly, "I know this situation and the mess Nigel and his gang have left us in's infuriating but, we need to get Broccoli and Eduarda checked out."

"But Susan and Lucy have jumped to the conclusion that we have been in a savage fight," snapped Collette. Veggie did not answer and kept by Broccoli's side, issuing him with words of comfort and encouragement until Lucy finally appeared with two plastic cages, one large and the other small. These cages were not like the cages Nigel and his gang had used to imprison Veggie and company including the macaws and cockatoos, but were more like the cages used in carrying rabbits or other small pets but bigger. The cages had bedding in the bottom to make the animal inside more comfortable, and they each had a handle on the top for easier carrying, and one of them was large enough to house a young greyhound with a broken limb. Susan and Lucy had kept three of these cages should an emergency happen with any of the cats or greyhounds, and now two of them were going to be used for transporting Broccoli and Eduarda to the vet's. Veggie backed away and commanded the other adolescent and adult greyhounds and cats to do the same as Lucy then knelt down beside Broccoli to gently lift him into the first cage, the small one.

"I sure hope Broccoli doesn't have a broken leg," said Thomas worriedly. "Nigel certainly did bite him pretty badly."

"That cockatoo's a bloodthirsty vulture, honestly," growled Veggie as he watched Lucy pack Broccoli carefully into the cage, "Let's hope his injury isn't too serious."

Then the group continued watching Lucy as she had Broccoli carefully placed into the cage.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17- the date of departure to the Amazon is revealed, Dash hatches a plan**

Nigel's group had finally entered the slums of Rio. In the wheelbarrows, Nigel continued taunting the caged macaws, this time starting on Jupiter and his family when Otis interrupted.

"Nigel," he said, "We're in the slums of Rio."

"Good," crooned Nigel, an evil glint in his eyes, "Sounds like we're nearly at our new friends' hideout."

"And another hideout of trouble," growled Jupiter bitterly, his wings folded exasperatedly. Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto just said nothing. Suddenly, Jupiter found a talon with its claws poised to come down across his face.

"You speak again; scarlet macaw and you'll be in agony coverin' your face," growled Nigel threateningly, "Now SHUT UP!"

Jupiter backed away, a fearful look smearing his face. However, under the fear his anger was burning and he barely resisted the urge to claw the threatening and smug look off of Nigel's face as it not only struck fear into him but also Ruby and his chicks. Nigel smiled as Jupiter looked back at him fearfully.

"That's right, pretty bird," he crooned, his talon lowered, "That's the look I'd like to see."

Then he left to prepare to meet Cazador's owners the moment they entered their hideout. Pluto and his family in the cage adjacent to Jupiter and his family's looked on bitterly.

"That cockatoo's a BULLY!" hissed Lapis Lazuli.

"I'd like to rip his crest off," growled Charon, his grey and dark turquoise feathers on end and sandy brown eyes ablaze with anger. Pluto shot Jupiter and his family a concerned look.

"Huh, Nigel can taunt and threaten those guys all he wants but he also has permission to injure them as well if they try to defend themselves," he murmured. Jupiter shot Pluto an infuriated glare.

"Well, I'm not gonna have him threaten my family or terrorise our chicks, or the chicks of anyone else, especially Blu and Jewel's three," he said.

"Blu and Jewel are like a flammable gas," explained Ganymede, "If Nigel ever harms Carla, Bia or Tiago, their temper's going to explode with a bang."

"Absolutely, son," said Ruby in agreement. The cloaked group continued walking through the slums, with Catina following stealthily behind them. There weren't many people around as this part of the slums did not have very many houses around, but it still struck Catina with bad and haunting memories of her time as a smuggler's cat. However, she must keep her mind on following the cloaked group and the subsequent steps after finding and infiltrating the hideout including rescuing the macaws and the cockatoos. Then after another while, Cazador alerted the cats and Nigel.

"There it is," he said. At this, Nigel, Otis and Moggy peered out from under the cloak.

"Whoa," breathed Moggy in awe. Nigel and Otis were also amazed. The hideout was a large building, but it looked ramshackle with many of its parts that had fallen into disrepair. Many of its windows were broken and its bricks and roof were strewn with cracks and holes.

"That is much bigger than the hideouts that we stayed in with our owners," said Otis.

"Well, this one is the perfect place to hide our true identity from the public," said Cazador proudly, "Anyway, let's get ready to enter the building and meet our other owners, and unload our catch."

Nigel, Moggy and Otis obeyed and retracted their heads back into the cloak. Then within moments, the cloaked group was outside the front door of the building. One of the human grunts lifted the cloak and knocked the wood of the door with a fist. Around and behind him, the other two humans waited with the three wheelbarrows containing the caged birds, and the crows, falcons, Nigel and the cats. The macaws and cockatoos looked around, confused.

"Where are we?" asked Travis timidly to one of the crows that kept watched over him and his family. Sunset had Eustace, Milo and Rosa hugged close to her. The crow did not reply to Travis's question.

"I said 'where are we'?" asked Travis again, this time in a louder and harsher voice. He then flinched when the crow's glare bore into him.

"You speak again and I'll claw your face in," snarled the black bird. Travis, taken aback by this answer and the attitude of the crow, backed away against Sunset in appal and disgust. The three sulfur-crested/Major Mitchell's hybrid chicks then began to whimper timidly.

"I don't like this place, Mom," murmured Eustace, his light purple eyes laced with fear.

"I wanna go home," murmured Rosa, her eyes closed with tears leaking through her closed eyelids, "It's scary here."

"Where are Dash and Veggie?" groaned Milo. Sunset looked warily around at the cats and crows as they kept watch over her and her family. If her chicks started whimpering, the cockatoos could face serious consequences but luckily, the chicks kept their urge to cry under control. Then suddenly, the surroundings rocked a bit as one of the human grunts started pushing the wheelbarrow in which they were placed, sending Travis and Sunset jerking in the opposite direction of the movement. From the outsider's view, the cloaked group then entered the building through the door. Behind the cloaked group, Catina saw the ghostly cloaked group disappear through the door and the door shut behind them. Now free from potentially getting spotted or heard, Catina accelerated her pace and rushed up towards the building. Then she looked for a window and as soon as she had found a broken window next to the door, she hopped onto her hind legs and began to watch the activities from the inside while at the same time looking for an entrance into the place.

Back inside the house, the three human grunts and the villainous animals had cast off their cloak for they were now inside an area where it was safe to remove it. As soon as they had done this, Cazador hurried off to fetch Lysandre and the others while the three humans and the other falcons, cats, crows and Nigel unloaded the wheelbarrows and placed the caged macaws and cockatoos onto the floor in an arrangement for easy examination. As they unloaded the cages and placed them onto the floor, the macaws and Travis's family shivered and huddled together apart from Venus and Mercury who were in a separate cage by themselves. However, Venus tried reaching for Zephyr and her four chicks but was out of reach. As soon as the three humans and the crows, cats, Nigel and the other five be falcons had finished unloading the last of the cages and had placed them on the floor, the three human grunts left with the wheelbarrows to put them away for future use. The macaws and cockatoos then began to look around. Cara, Bia and Tiago were very afraid and were huddled together while Blu and Jewel looked around with eyes flooded with different emotions: Blu with immense fear and Jewel with disgust. The looks of fear, disgust and fury also laced the faces of the other macaws and Travis and his family. As they continued examining this decrepit place, the five falcons including Cometa, the crows, the cats and Nigel gathered around the caged birds to keep a watch on them. All but one of the falcons wore gleeful, scornful and triumphant looks on their faces, but the other one, Cometa, wore a facial look that was totally different from the others. Hers was laced with remorse and sympathy for the prisoners, especially for Mercury and Venus, Carla, Bia and Tiago and the other chicks. Their frightened gazes as they flickered around the unknown and scary surroundings sent more guilt and remorse down her spine. Then suddenly, footsteps sounded on the floor. There was not one pair of human feet but many. As the group of birds heard this, they all looked up and saw a shadowy crowd of figures approach them. At this, all the chicks huddled together against their parents' chests and in their wings, apart from Carla, Bia and Tiago who were separate from their mother and father. However, they were desperate to be with them, as Venus was with Zephyr and Mercury with Sapphire. Cometa saw the frightened looks on Carla, Bia and Tiago's faces and Blu sand Jewel looking worriedly at them from their cage.

"Swoop," she whispered to the falcon next to her, "Do you think we should transfer those three chicks from that cage into the cage with the two adult blue macaws? They look desperate to be with each other…"

"Look, Cometa," snapped Swoop annoyed, "Just leave those birds in their cages. If we did that, they might escape. Now pipe down and prepare to meet Lysandre."

Cometa reluctantly did so and moved her attention to Lysandre and his group as they approached the group and gathered around them. As Lysandre's group, together with more crows, crowded around the caged macaws and cockatoos, Cantina, having found a way into the building through a hole in the wall, stealthily and quietly crept towards a pile of equipment and empty cages and then looked out to watch the group. Her eyes widened in shock at the size of Lysandre's group. When Catina had been part of Otis's group, they only had up to owners: leader Frank, and underlings Luke, Vera, Marvin, and Jack and Jill, whilst Nigel only had four owners: Marcel, the leader, Tipa, Armando and Fernando. These two groups used to work together until Frank and Marcel became overcome with competitiveness, with attempts to outdo each other in how many birds they could captured and smuggle and how much money they could make growing exponentially. These attitudes drove a cutting blade down the middle of the group and made the two new groups go their separate ways after a big, big falling out. However, Lysandre's group was well over three times the size of Nigel and the cats' group combined and Catina could see that the group of humans, together with the falcons and crows, was massive. This clearly was a new threat in larger proportions to the two previous groups of smugglers, one of which Catina had been a part of. As Catina continued watching from the pile of equipment unseen, Lysandre began to examine the captured macaws and cockatoos. As his eyes skated over Blu, Jewel, and Carla, Bia and Tiago, Lysandre stopped and leaned down to take a closer look at the Spix macaw family in their two cages.

"So this is one of the Spix families from the Blu Bird Sanctuary?" he said.

"That's right, sir," said one of the three human grunts who had participated in transporting the macaws and cockatoos to this place, "The other Spix family, and the glaucous and Lear's macaw families are right there."

He indicated with a point of a finger towards Mercury and Venus, and Zephyr and Sapphire and their chicks in four more cages and Pluto, Lapis Lazuli and their four chicks in their cage as well. Lysandre moved over to the cages containing these macaws. As he shoved his face up towards Zephyr and his chicks, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil cowered in his wings while Zephyr bitterly glared back at the two green eyes saturated with glee and the fantasy of a huge price tag on him and his chicks, his feathers on end. Cometa looked on and saw how frightened Zephyr's chicks were but couldn't say anything. Then Lysandre moved on and examined Sapphire up close. Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette also cowered in her wings while Sapphire took up a defensive posture. Her dark blue feathers were on end and her blue eyes were flaring with rage. However, Lysandre did not care about the fright he was causing the chicks and then moved over to Mercury and Venus who backed away against the side or corner furthest from the wickedly smiling poacher's face. Next, Lysandre moved over to Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor, frightening the four chicks and adult male and enraging the adult female.

"So this is the glaucous macaw family that resides on the Blu Bird Sanctuary?" he asked.

"It is," said another human grunt, a female who had also participated in taking the caged birds to here, "Looks like our pets have caught all six of them."

Nigel and some of the cats smiled proudly as Lysandre then congratulated the group, the three grunts, the crows and the six falcons for catching all four of the valuable macaw families. Then Lysandre moved on to examine the other macaw families. His face passed from Mars, Chiquitita, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre's cage to Jupiter and his family's cage. Chiquitita who still had her wings clasped over her scratched stomach where Nigel had attacked her for clawing him across the face glared at Lysandre's face as it glided by like a predator. As Lysandre's face glided past Jupiter and his family's cage, Jupiter hissed silently while Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto cowered in Ruby's wings. Then Lysandre's wicked green eyes, green as the description of money, glided past the cage containing Saturn, Orquidea, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus. All nine blue-and-gold macaws flinched from either fear or anger as Lysandre's face moved on. Then Lysandre glared greedily at Uranus, Esmeralda, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon before moving to Neptune, Ultramarine, Triton and Indigo and then to Ceres, Cobalto, Aurelio, Wilbur and Azul and then finally to Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa. As he got to the cockatoo family, he said, "I have never seen a sulfur-crested/Major Mitchell's pairing like that before," he then looked at the three human grunts and asked, "Do these live on the Blu Bird Sanctuary as well?"

"I don't know, sir," said the third grunt who had helped to steal the macaws, "but the falcons, the cats, the crows and Nigel had captured them with those macaws. I believe so."

Lysandre then looked at Travis and his family and smiled. Travis and Sunset glared back at the head of the poaching group with bitter eyes and raised crests.

"This family of cockatoos will be worth a fortune," said Lysandre, "Especially their chicks since they'll be hybrids of the two adults."

From her hiding spot, Catina's baby blue eyes widened in horror when she saw the flash of pure white and pink among the rest of the colour formed by the macaws.

"Travis and his family have been captured as well?" she asked herself under her breath in disbelief. Lysandre then stood up and clapped his hands together.

"Well, that's one job done," he said to his group and pets, "Now the next stage is preparing for our trip into the Amazon as soon as Ernesto gives us the decided date from Tulio."

The pets and his underlings all nodded in obedience. "Then, while we are there," continued Lysandre, "We will set to work in capturing macaws from the Spix, Lear's and glaucous macaw flocks, alongside as any of the other animals as possible and then we'll be making our escape."

These words reached Catina's ears, and her eyes lit in realisation.

"Looks like I've struck gold," she hissed, "This is _definitely_ the new group of poachers."

"And while we smuggle those birds and other animals out of this country," added Lysandre, "We will be segregating them into destination groups before we land in our first country and selling the first group of animals through the black market…"

The others nodded again. As Lysandre mentioned segregating the animals into destination groups, an idea entered his head as he stole a glance from Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago, but it was a totally evil idea. It was an idea in which he would carry out his revenge on the Spix macaw family for the loss of his ability to fly. The reaction from the caged birds was flooded with horror and fear.

"They're gonna split us up once they had done poaching in the Sanctuary de Amazon?" whispered Jupiter worriedly.

"I hope they're not planning on forcing apart our families," murmured Mars. As Mars mentioned this, a dreadful thought entered Jupiter's head.

"And then we will be rich," said one of the assistants named Gale.

"Yep," said Lysandre. Dollar signs then flashed in Otis and his cat gang's eyes as the thoughts of the end result of this whole process flashed in their minds.

"If only Brutus were here," murmured Moggy, "He would have loved to join this group."

"Yeah, I know," said Tom. Otis was about to say something when a musical tune filled the air. However, it was not made by vocal cords, but by something artificial, and it was emanating from Lysandre's pocket. Lysandre, at this, took out the source of the sound, a mobile phone and pressed the 'answer' button.

"Hello," he said. His grunts and pets kept a close eye on the caged birds. While Lysandre began talking to the caller with the other humans and the pets listening, the caged birds began to talk among themselves.

"What did that human mean by segregating the animals into destination groups?" asked Ceres as Wilbur, Aurelio and Azul looked out from within the shield of her wings timidly.

"I think he means that he's going to split us into groups to be sold to different countries," replied Cobalto, "Say one group of animals will be destined to go to France, another to Germany and so on as an example?"

"Could that mean splitting us up, Father?" asked Azul timidly.

"I don't know, son," whispered Cobalto. He stole a glance from Lysandre and his group and pets. "But we have to get out of here right now and warn Tulio about this group. We can't allow this group to infiltrate the nature reserve and poach animals, especially from the Spix, glaucous and Lear's macaw tribes."

"I hope our cat and dog friends will have done that already," said Travis in his cage adjacent to the blue-throated macaw family's. Then a dreadful thought hit Cobalto.

"Cobalto," asked Ceres when she saw the dreaded look glint in her mate's eyes, "What is it?"

"I just had a thought," said Cobalto. He then stole another glance at Lysandre and his group and then looked at Ceres, Travis and Sunset. "Do you guys remember what that falcon told us about this group planning on infiltrating into the Sanctuary de Amazon disguised as ecologists back in the attic?"

"Yes?" said Travis.

"I just had a thought about our tribe and clans' trust in humans," said Cobalto. Confusion hit the female blue-throated macaw and the cockatoos.

"What do you mean?" asked Sunset but then understanding took hold of her. At this, she gasped, but Travis and Ceres were still stuck in the cloud of confusion.

"Before our homes were set up as a nature reserve," said Cobalto, "We had no trust in humans whatsoever and saw them as nothing but destroyers of the environment, regardless of whether they were well-meaning or not. But after a group of well-meaning humans had set up our homes as a protected nature reserve in order to protect us and our homes from the destruction of logging, especially the Spix, the glaucous and the Lear's macaw tribes based on their species' rarity and endangerment, can you guys imagine what impact our tribes and clans' trust in well-meaning humans if a group of poachers disguised as some of them sneaked into their home?"

"It could destroy the bird tribes and clans' trust in well-meaning humans," murmured Sunset. Travis and Ceres flinched while the chicks gasped in horror. Cobalto nodded. Then Travis, his yellow crest fully raised and a look of thunder flashing on his face, thumped the side of his cage in anger, jerking his family's cage slightly and shifting it by about an inch.

"I cannot BELIEVE that a bunch of poachers would have the AUDACITY to come up with some stupid plan to disguise as ecologists to steal animals from a protected nature reserve," he growled.

"We've got to get out of here," said Sunset. Suddenly, a clap from Lysandre's hands cut her off, pulling the cockatoo and blue-throated macaw families' attention to the head of the poachers.

"We have some good news, folks," said Lysandre, a gleeful look plastered on his face, "Tulio has now decided on the date his group will be heading out into the Amazon as reported by Ernesto which will be two days from now…"

The group of caged birds listened as Lysandre then explained to his group what they need to do to prepare for that departure day. Blu looked on with an awful look scribbled on his face. He had come to the same conclusion as Cobalto regarding the trust of the bird tribes and clans in well-meaning humans and had shivered at how Lysandre's group's infiltration into the Sanctuary de Amazon through disguising as ecologists would jeopardise that. From her hiding place, Catina had also heard when Tulio and his team will be heading off into the Amazon from the head of the poachers. A horrified look marked her face as she continued watching Lysandre and listening to his commands of preparation, taking in every syllable. Then as soon as Lysandre had finished explaining what his group need to do, he dismissed the group and the group dispersed. Some of the underlings then picked up the caged macaws and cockatoos to move them to somewhere else so that they would not cause a trip hazard. As their cage was being carried along, Blu gave Jewel a dreaded look.

"I don't like what those poachers are planning to do; Jewel," he murmured, "And I'd hate to think what impact their intrusion would have on our tribes and clans' trust in well-meaning humans."

"We're gonna HAVE to think of a way out of here," growled Jewel bitterly. She then glared at the nine padlocks locking her and Blu into their cage and then stole a glance from Carla, Bia and Tiago as they timidly huddled together as their cage was being carried by another person. Then streaks of black feathers shot by as some of the crows fluttered past. In the glaucous macaws' cage, Lapis Lazuli flinched at the sight of the corvid birds.

"These crows remind me of those hideous flying foxes," she murmured to Pluto, "I don't like those black birds at all."

Then she flinched as one of the crows shot her a mean glare before following its comrades. Pluto looked on in disgust, and then shot concerned glances at the other macaws and cockatoos, especially Blu and Jewel, their three chicks, and Mercury and Venus.

"We've got to get out of here now," he murmured. Suddenly, the cage started to descend as the human carrying it then lowered it onto the ground. Pluto nearly stumbled as the rocking of the cage threw him off balance. Around the glaucous macaw family, the other caged birds were also set down by the other human grunts. As soon as they had placed the cages in a spot such that they won't pose a trip hazard, the human grunts left to join their groupmates before crows touched down around the caged macaws and cockatoos to watch them and make sure that they did not plan on escaping. Not too far away from the group of poachers, Catina had followed the group of poachers and had hid herself amongst another pile of empty cages.

 **Meanwhile**

Back at Susan and Lucy's house, Dash, Ginger, Veggie and Esperanza, James, Danny and Avellana the adolescent greyhounds and Thomas, Collette and Daisy the young adult cats were loitering around on the cats and dogs' beds. Broccoli and Eduarda were at the vet's, having been taken there by Susan and Lucy. The ten's minds were churning with worry like the waters of a rushing river. They were worried for their bird friends, Catina and for Broccoli and Eduarda and also about this new group of poachers at work. Veggie lay on his and Catina's bed, his mind tumbling with worry like clothes in a washing machine. The thought of a new group of poachers planning on sneaking into the protected nature reserve that is the Sanctuary de Amazon made his stomach turn. The same thought also plagued the minds of the other nine cats and greyhounds, and Veggie could not believe that a group of poachers, despite knowing that the area where the Spix macaws and their neighbours lived was now a protected reserve with poaching and logging outlawed would cook up a plan to sneak into there to poach birds anyway. But Veggie knew that thieving humans would always concoct new, sometimes even unbelievable and extreme ways to try and get past the barriers of security. Veggie had read on the internet about illegal drug smugglers that had come up with such ways, some of which were even ridiculous, to smuggle illegal drugs into a country through its airport security customs. It was obvious that there were some humans out there who would try and sneak through security using devious ways even if it means breaking the law. Then Veggie's thoughts travelled over to Eduarda and Broccoli who were at the vet's. It was clear that Broccoli had been in agony with his left front paw and Veggie had hoped that the injury inflicted on him by Nigel was not too bad. While he thought about his oldest son and Eduarda, the oldest daughter and puppy of Ginger and Dash's first litter, Collette's voice broke through his daydream-like state.

"Dad," said Collette. Veggie looked at her.

"Yes, Collette," he said.

"Do you think Broccoli will be okay?" asked Collette.

"Look, he and Eduarda are in good hands," said Veggie firmly, "I just hope his injured paw isn't too bad."

Collette sighed and sat down by her dad's bed. She remembered Broccoli's extreme cry of agony as Nigel sank his beak into his front leg when he tried protecting Carla, Bia and Tiago and had refused to hand them over to him to be caged.

"I think Broccoli had been so brave to try his best to defend Blu and Jewel's chicks from that savage yellow crested vulture," said Collette, a tear leaking from an eye and running down her cheek, "But out of all of us, I think he suffered the most. It is quite analogous to when Nigel broke Jewel's wing years ago."

"That cockatoo's an outright monster, honestly," said Veggie with a small growl, "Especially towards exotic bird chicks. The way he frightened Carla and Bia was just beyond disgusting."

Collette then gazed at a window in the hallway and saw the darkening sky, indicating the approach of dusk. "I hope our avian friends are okay and that Mom has everything covered."

"Look, she's spent most of her life as a smuggler's cat, daughter," said Veggie, "She knows what she is doing."

Just then, Veggie's brown eyes caught Dash who was lost in thought. His left paw was under his chin and he was staring into space, a frown on his face.

"What are you thinking about, Dash?" asked Veggie.

"I've just been thinking," said the light grey male greyhound as he retracted his paw from under his chin. He then looked at Veggie and said, "Have you ever thought of helping Catina?"

"What do you mean?" asked Veggie. Suddenly, the cats and dogs were alerted by the clicking of the front door's lock as the door was unlocked. Then the door was opened and in came Susan. She was on the phone talking to someone.

"Yes, Tulio, I'm sorry about earlier with three of our greyhounds," she said, "I'm afraid our house has been turned into a right pigsty by our cats and dogs who I believe have been fighting…"

Disgust tore through the cats and dogs as they heard this.

"Us fighting each other!?" snapped Thomas bitterly, "It were the awful bunch of crows, cats, falcons and that cockatoo that we fought with, leading to the carnage in the living room and kitchen."

Dash then cocked an ear to listen to the person Susan was talking to on the phone, which was Tulio.

"How are Broccoli and Eduarda, Susan?" asked Tulio's voice.

"Oh, Eduarda's fine, just a nasty scratch but Broccoli's forelimb has a cracked bone," said Susan in reply. Shock and horror tore through the cat and dog group.

"So it's true!?" blurted out Ginger. Veggie just said nothing while Collette, Daisy and Thomas's eyes began to ooze tears.

"The vet had taken an X-ray of his forelimb," continued Susan, "And the result showed that part of the radius close to the carpals of the paw had a small crack in it…"

"What's a radius?" asked Danny.

"One of the bones in the lower part of the front limb," replied Avellana.

"…So Broccoli's going to have that forelimb in a cast and will possibly be spending at least two weeks in the vet's hospital," continued Susan. Veggie shot Susan a glare.

"I hope Nigel's enjoying the result he has caused my oldest son," he growled sarcastically.

"I should imagine he is," said Dash, rage storming his face, "After all, he's a sadistic piece of work of a cockatoo."

"I hope he's not planning on biting any of our feathered friends," said Thomas timidly and worriedly. Then Susan said, "So we're going to go to the Sanctuary de Amazon two days from now? Right I'll get ready but one of us may have to stay behind and sort our house out as well as look after Broccoli and Eduarda while they are recovering, as well as the rest of our pets…"

Dash heard this and felt a plan form in his head.

"What is it now?" asked Veggie. Dash shot him an angry look.

"We're going to have to take this problem into our own paws," he replied, "If our owners or Tulio won't believe that there is a group of poachers planning on infiltrating the Sanctuary de Amazon, we're going to have to find another way."

Suddenly, Susan then hung up on her mobile phone, having finished her conversation with Tulio and then put her phone away. She then prepared to go back to Tulio's Aviary to finish the day, but not before checking the food and water bowls and toilet trays of the cats and dogs to see if they needed filling or changing. She did not even glance at the cats and dogs for she was still angry with them for causing the mess of the house and for apparently fighting. As soon as Susan had checked the bowls and trays, she was satisfied that they did not require changing or refilling and headed off the door. She then opened the door and left, locking the door in the process. As soon as Susan had disappeared, Dash began to discuss his ideas with the other cats and dogs.

"So what do you have in mind?" asked Veggie. The young adult cats and adolescent puppies listened intently.

"It sounds kind of farfetched but we may have to go to the Amazon," said Dash. This was met with the shakes of the other cats' and dogs' heads and a shout of disbelief from his mate.

"What!?" snapped Ginger.

"I'm afraid it's too risky," said Veggie, "One, Tulio would not tolerate us going with them to the sanctuary in the Amazon rainforest; if you, Esperanza and James have unintentionally caused them trouble at Tulio's Aviary, I can't imagine what Tulio, Susan and Lucy's reaction would be like if they catch us hitching a ride with them to the Sanctuary de Amazon…"

"But based on the falcon's explanation of how those poachers are going to go to the Sanctuary de Amazon when he and his minions including Nigel and his cat friends held us in cages in the attic, Veggie," protested Dash, "He mentioned how one of his owners is spying on Tulio and his team and keeping an ear out for the signal, which is the date when Tulio and his group will head off to the Sanctuary de Amazon, and then contacting the poaching group leader to tell him that date."

"The date at which Tulio and his team will be going to the Amazon?" repeated Veggie. But then it dawned upon him and the others. They had just heard Tulio tell Susan it over the phone.

"Then that means that the spy from that poaching group will have told the head of the group that by now," said Avellana in realisation.

"And that subsequently means that that group of poachers will be heading off to the Amazon on the _exact same day_ as Tulio and his team," put in Danny. Dash's face then changed to a look of determination.

"Then that means we'll be going to the Amazon too," he growled.

"I'm sorry, Dash but it's too dangerous like I've said before," said Veggie.

"The Amazon rainforest is not the place for domestic cats and dogs such as us," said Avellana, "I've read of what potential predators and other lethal plants and animals might lurk in that maze of vegetation in an ecology book."

"That's right," said Veggie in agreement, "Seriously, Dash, we don't want to run into anything like a jaguar or a crocodile or a snake capable of swallowing a human whole."

"But Veggie," protested Dash, "Our feathered friends are at stake and Tulio and his team are still unaware that they have a spy amidst them. If we don't help uncover that spy and who he or she is working for, they're going to have poachers in ecologists' clothing sneaking into the area Tulio and Linda have worked ever so hard to set up poaching macaws from that only flock of Spix macaws in the world, and macaws from the glaucous and Lear's flocks and also other animals… without Tulio and his team knowing."

Then Collette stepped in, a determined look on her face.

"Birds may be our natural enemy even though we, Mom and Broccoli are friends with them and wouldn't dream of killing and eating a bird," she said, "But those flocks of birds in the Sanctuary de Amazon don't deserve to have poachers nabbing individuals from them, especially the three flocks whose species are critically endangered."

"I'm in as well," said Thomas.

"So am I," said Daisy. Then Avellana, James, Danny and Esperanza stood up to show that they want to participate in the quest to uncover the sneaky poachers as well. Then Veggie reluctantly joined the agreeing side.

"I'll go as well," he said, "Since after all, my mate has the poachers' hideout and our kidnapped feathered friends covered, and she may need backup should she run into trouble."

Then Ginger said, "I'm coming with you."

At this, the others shot her a shocked glare.

"But Ginger," said Dash, "That is _extremely_ unwise. That cat gang led by Otis and Nigel the cockatoo are amongst the group of poachers alongside a group of falcons and crows, you know."

"If you ended up in a dire situation involving them, especially Nigel or a falcon," said Veggie, "Your unborn pups could be in serious danger, ands Nigel is an extremely dangerous cockatoo."

He shuddered as he remembered hearing Broccoli's agonised cries when Nigel bit his paw, and the damage he had caused him.

"Look, I appreciate your concerns," said Ginger adamantly, "And I am aware of the risks but those macaws are my friends as well as yours, and there is no way I'm gonna allow those creeps to poach any of those protected birds or any other animal from the Sanctuary de Amazon and smuggle out of Brazil, so I'm in."

At first, the other nine looked reluctant but then they relented.

"Okay," said Dash, "But you MUST steer clear of the most dangerous and riskiest situations and keep your distance from those poachers' pets. I don't want you injured."

Ginger smiled. However, inside, Dash regretted letting Ginger in on the risky quest. 'If she ends up hurt or even worse, lose our second litter of puppies, it'll be all my fault,' the male greyhound thought. He then thought of his and Ginger's future second litter and hoped that Ginger would not end up in mortal danger. After all this was a dangerous operation the cats and dogs were planning to go on.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18- the disgusting traits of Nigel**

Dusk had come over the city of Rio and people were preparing to go home while those on nightshift jobs were preparing to take up their positions. The midnight blue-black of the night was slowly chasing away the brighter blue of the daylight sky as the sun slowly set. In Tijuca forest and the Blu Bird Sanctuary, the diurnal animals were preparing to turn in for the night while the nocturnal animals prepared for their activities. Back at Lysandre's base, dinner was approaching and some of the poaching group members were cooking food for the other poachers and filling the food bowls for the pets. The pet food was mice and meat for the falcons, cat food and fish for the cats, various for the crows and nuts and fruit for Nigel. While the cooks were making dinner, the caged macaws and cockatoos were slumped together in their cages, miserable and despairing looks on their faces. In their own cages, Mercury and Venus gazed longingly at Sapphire and Zephyr and their chicks, but the barrier of bars made that impossible for them to be with their families. The same was true for Carla, Bia and Tiago who gazed longingly at Blu and Jewel. The couple were gazing back at their three chicks but could not get to them because of the barrier of cage bars, compounded by watchful eyes of a number of crows and cats stationed around the group in order to keep an eye on them.

"I know how you feel, Blu and Jewel," said Venus in a groan through the whirlwind of fright and stress of being shoved into a cage separate from her family, "Mercury and I feel the same way."

"Yeah, but you feel even worse because of Nigel's presence," said Blu. He then shot the tatty cockatoo as he paced around with an acidic glare. In an adjacent cage, Uranus and his family were huddled together.

"This is even worse than the previous den of smugglers, Uranus," whispered Esmeralda as she tried to keep her five chicks Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon warm. The five chicks were still shaking with fear. Uranus scanned the pairs of corvid and feline eyes as they bore into the caged group, watchful and alert like prison guards. The air hanging over the caged birds was just as cruel. It was cold, stuffy, dry and stale, like a room that had not been exposed to the flow of outside's fresh air for ages.

"This is certainly a miserable place, I can tell you," said Uranus. He then gazed at the others who were also miserable and trying to keep their chicks calm. Then suddenly, a grumbling sound reached Uranus's ears. At this, he turned to Esmeralda. However, he hadn't noticed that Oberon was grasping his stomach, the source of the grumble noise.

"Was that you, Es?" asked Uranus.

"No, it wasn't me, Uranus," replied Esmeralda. Then Oberon spoke up as his stomach growled again.

"Man, I'm starving," he moaned, a wing placed on his tummy. Then Miranda began to groan.

"When was the last time we had a meal?" she murmured. Ariel, Umbriel and Titania all moaned in agreement. Esmeralda and Uranus knew that meant one thing, but it was the one thing they didn't like, not at this time.

"Oh, not hunger," muttered Esmeralda indignantly. Uranus did not know what to say. They were in a cage, trapped in a poachers' den and far away from any food source. Furthermore, they could not fly pout to search for anything to eat. It was then that growls from the stomachs and groans from the other chicks began to escape into the stale air.

"I'm hungry, Dad," groaned Justin to Zephyr, "I'm hungry."

"I'm hungry too, Dad," groaned Charlotte. Then Matilda and Virgil and the other chicks including Carla, Bia and Tiago all groaned the same thing.

"Dad, we're hungry."

"We're hungry Mom."

"We're all hungry."

"We want something to eat."

"I'm hungry, Mom and Dad."

Zephyr looked down at his four chicks and replied, "I'm sorry kids."

At this, Justin and his three siblings groaned in despair. Mars and Chiquitita said the same thing to Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre when they begged for food as well, as well as Sapphire with Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette, Jupiter and Ruby with Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, Saturn and Orquidea with Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus, Neptune and Ultramarine with Triton and Indigo, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli with Charon, Flor, Quincy and Blueberry, Ceres and Cobalto with Aurelio, Azul and Wilbur, and Sunset and Travis with Eustace, Milo and Rosa. Blu and Jewel also apologised to Carla, Bia and Tiago, much to their despair. Then Jupiter heard one of Lysandre's grunts come by and order all the crows, the falcons, cats and Nigel to form a line. At this, he looked up.

"Maybe those kidnappers of ours would feed us?" he asked as the scuttling of talons and cat paws filled the air as the poachers' pets got into position.

"Don't expect anything from those meanies, Jupiter;" growled Ruby bitterly, "You know what smugglers are often like with their captured animals."

Jupiter shot his mate a dreaded glare and realised she could be right. But he had four hungry chick beaks to feed and they were groaning more and more with empty stomachs that growled like a beast desperate for food. It was then that the stomachs of the adult birds began to sound, much to their frustration.

"Oh, no," muttered Saturn as his stomach grumbled, indicative of hunger, "This is _all_ we need."

Blu and Jewel then glared down at their rumbling tummies as well.

"Do you think we should call for food, Jewel?" asked Blu.

"Don't bother," snapped Jewel bitterly, "I don't accept food from tacky poachers."

Blu sighed as Jewel then turned her back on the poachers to stare into space.

"Jupiter, do you think we could attract those poachers' attention to receive food?" asked Mars.

"But what if we don't get any response?" replied Jupiter with a frown. He admitted defeat when he heard Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto moan about their hunger, so he tried his luck in calling for one of the falcons and crows to alert the poachers that they were hungry despite Ruby's protests.

"Excuse me," he called to one of the falcons, Cazador as he waited patiently for his meal. "We're getting hungry. Are those owners of yours going to feed us?"

No reply. Jupiter tried shouting louder but still Cazador pretended that he wasn't there. Then Mars, Saturn, Travis and Pluto joined in to amplify the message.

"I hope those poachers will get the message," muttered Travis before he started squawking again.

"Jupiter," said Ruby irritably, "It's futile trying to get those falcons' attention about food."

But Jupiter ignored his mate's protests and continued shouting and squawking. His squawks and the squawks of Mars, Saturn, Pluto and Travis reached Cometa's ears. At this, she turned round and saw the muscular male scarlet macaw, the male green-winged macaw, the male blue-and-gold macaw, one of the glaucous macaws and the sulfur-crested cockatoo squawking and yelling about their group's hunger.

"Cazador," said Cometa.

"What!?" snapped Cazador irritably.

"Those birds are squawking, indicating that they and their chicks are getting hungry," said Cometa, "Do you thin k we should get our owners to feed them?"

Cazador shot a glare at Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Pluto and Travis as they continued squawking. The others except Jewel looked on expectantly. At this a mocking 'pfft' filtered through Cazador's beak.

"Don't listen to them irritating parrots, Cometa," said Cazador uncaringly, "They've caused us enough irritation for one day."

"But they haven't eaten…" began Cometa but Cazador cut her off.

"Just do as I say, Cometa!" snarled her leader. Cometa reluctantly obeyed and waited for her meal. However, hearing the macaws' and cockatoo's squawks for food made her stomach twist with guilt. Nigel and the cats then turned round and saw Jupiter and some of the others try to get the poachers' attention and sniggered at them.

"Poor, poor pretty birds," crooned Nigel mockingly, "Beggin' for food. Well I'm afraid they aren't gonna get any."

"Are Lysandre or any of his underlings going to feed them?" asked Moggy.

"I hope not," replied Nigel sadistically, "I always loved listening to pretty birds groan of hunger, especially Spix macaws."

He then shot Blu and Jewel an extremely acidic hateful glare before turning round and waiting for his meal. Then food bowls containing the food for the evil animal gang came along and were placed before Nigel, each cat, falcon and groups of up to six crows. The humans that served the food heard the begging cries of Jupiter and some others but deliberately ignored them before returning to the large table to have their own tea. Lysandre also did nothing about the macaws' cry for food. When they saw that the poaching group wasn't definitely going to give them anything, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Pluto ad Travis gave up squawking. As Jupiter slumped down in despair against the bars, Ruby came in, a glare on her face.

"I TOLD you they weren't going to listen," she muttered. Jupiter just bowed his head and didn't reply. Then Io's eyes locked onto the fruit and nuts in one of the groups of crows' food bowls as the corvids greedily shoved pieces of them down their throats like gannets.

"Oh, I wish I could have a bit of that fruit and nut mix," she murmured hungrily, her tongue hanging out of her beak and saliva dripping from it. Europa, Ganymede and Callisto also gazed hungrily at the food, but Ruby looked on in disgust, not at her kids' salivating but at the lack of care of the poachers. Blu also hungrily gazed at the fruit and nuts being gorged upon by the crows, as did Tiago. Jewel, however, was sourly loitering in the corner of her and Blu's cage with her back turned to the poaching group and wings folded while Bia and Carla in their and Tiago's cage were huddled together, weeping. The other chicks and adults were also either gazing hungrily at the fruit and nuts or were indignant.

"I should have seen this coming," growled Lapis Lazuli, "It's the uncaring nature of those poachers again. Oh, SHUT UP!"

She slapped a wing on her growling stomach and sat down sourly. Pluto sighed and sat down beside her while Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor continued complain of hunger. Mercury and Venus who were isolated from the others also sat down in despair, while Zephyr and Sapphire while Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette muttered in hunger, glared bitterly at the poachers as they ate their dinner.

"At least those wretched piglets are enjoying stuffing their stomachs over there," snarled Zephyr sarcastically. He then gazed at his rumbling tummy.

"I hope you are enjoying your meals, creeps while listening to and seeing us collapse from hunger," yelled Mars while Chiquitita, Phobos and Deimos sat huddled together, very hungry. Otis shot the green-winged macaw a sneering look.

"As a matter of fact we are, thanks for checking, red feathers," crooned Otis mockingly and took another mouthful of cat food and fish.

"Nigel doesn't seem to like his nuts and fruit," whispered Chiquitita. At this, Mars glanced at Nigel and saw that he wasn't eating his food, which were fruit and nuts. The sickly cockatoo wore a sour look on his face, obviously not wanting to eat the food set before him. He wanted to eat meat and fish, but he had his eyes on another type of meat. Saturn, Orquidea, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus also sourly watched the poachers and their pets eat.

"They're not gonna feed us, are they Dad?" asked Iapetus. Saturn replied 'no' with a shake of his head.

"They don't care about us, son," he said, "They're animal poachers interested entirely in making as much money out of us as possible, so they don't care about our condition."

"But watching them eat while we're starving isn't FAIR!" wailed Mimas as her stomach growled and felt like an empty shell. "I want FOOD!"

Her six siblings also muttered about the same thing but Orquidea silenced them.

"I'm afraid we're not gonna get it, kids," she said sadly and angrily, "Now please be quiet or you'd attract the unwanted attention of those poachers' pets, and that is something we could do without."

The seven chicks all groaned and sat down. Next to the blue-and-gold family, Uranus, Esmeralda, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon also glared bitterly at the poachers and their pets as they ate; the crows eating especially greedily.

"Those crows aren't crows at all," growled Uranus sourly, "They're GANNETS!"

"Those cats are also gluttonous pigs," put in Esmeralda. Miranda and her three sisters and brother gazed hungrily at the fruit and nuts. Ceres, Cobalto, Wilbur, Aurelio and Azul just sat together and refused to look up and look at the poaching group eating their dinner but they still heard the munching and scoffing sounds emitting from the bunch of crooks. Cobalto then slapped a wing against the bars of the cage in utter frustration before sitting down, a thunderous look on his face.

"I DESPISE poachers," he snarled, "They're SO uncaring and inconsiderate…"

"Join the perch," said Ceres. Next to the blue-throated macaws, Neptune, Ultramarine, Triton and Indigo continued bitterly watching the poachers eat or stuff their faces.

"I hope Nigel's enjoying this," muttered Ultramarine.

"He doesn't look hungry, actually," said Neptune as he watched Nigel look down at his bowl of fruit and nuts. "What a waste of food. That fruit and nut mix could go to at least some of us."

Triton and Indigo gazed hungrily at Nigel's food and licked their beaks. Blueberry, Charon, Flor and Quincy also gazed at Nigel's food while Pluto and Lapis Lazuli looked on bitterly.

"What's the point of stealing us if they aren't gonna care for us?" growled Pluto.

"They're poachers, Pluto," snapped Lapis Lazuli, "What do you expect?"

Pluto did not reply and let loose a sigh. Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa also continued to watch the poaching group eat, the latter three pressing their beaks against the bars of the cage, tongues hanging out, eyes wide with hunger and saliva dripping form their beaks.

"Talk about neglect," said Travis sourly. Sunset nodded in agreement as her stomach rumbled again. Then the group of caged birds continued watching the poachers and their pets as they continued eating their dinner, more and more food continuously disappearing down their throats. From her hiding place amongst the pile of empty cages, Catina kept watch on the poachers and the caged birds, waiting for the right moment to put her rescue plan into action. The macaws and cockatoos continued either watching the poachers eat or laze around lamenting on their empty stomachs and the poachers' cruelty when suddenly, disgusted groans and yelps flared into the air above the poachers' pets. At this, the macaws and cockatoos turned to the sounds' source and to their utter shock, they saw the ragged grey-white form of Nigel plunge his head into one of the falcons' food bowl, much to the others' disgust.

"Nigel, you're supposed to eat from your OWN food bowl, not Xerosic's," shouted Cazador. The cats and crows around the group winced in utter revulsion as Nigel looked up at Cazador, his cheek full of Xerosic's food.

"But these rodents are delicious," he crooned disgustingly. Revulsion and horror tore through the macaws and Travis and his family when they heard what Nigel was stuffing his beak on. The adults covered the chicks' faces to prevent them from seeing the gross cockatoo from shoving another mouse down his throat like a pelican a fish. Travis felt his stomach turn.

"Oh, that's disgusting," he growled. Sunset's face was plastered with revulsion as her eyes gazed at Nigel eating more mice from Xerosic's bowl while her wings were covering Eustace, Milo and Rosa to prevent them seeing what Nigel was eating. When Nigel saw the disgusted looks on the caged bird group's faces, an evil and vile smile crept in his beak, so he snatched some more mice from Xerosic's bowl and sauntered towards the caged group.

"Whassup, pretty birds?" Nigel crooned in the grossest voice he could muster, "Don't like seein' me eating mice?"

The caged macaws and cockatoos backed away from the revolting cockatoo. From her hiding place, Catina looked on, revulsion smeared on her face.

"Get your disgusting eating habits away from us," growled Zephyr, his wings covering Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil's faces. Blu and Jewel had told Carla, Bia and Tiago to look away from the vile cockatoo while they kept a fierce eye on him.

"Don't tell me you've taken to eating even more disgusting stuff, have you?" shouted Ruby. Jupiter, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto had their backs turned to Nigel, not wanting to see him eat whatever he was about to eat, Jupiter already feeling nauseated. Then Nigel, a disgusting smile on his beak, raised a mouse, held it in front of the macaws and cockatoos and began to wolf it down in the most disgusting way possible. Repulsed groans and shouts exploded from the macaws and cockatoos as they watched Nigel eat the mice directly in front of them.

"Oh, Nigel, you're making everybody here feel sick," shouted Cobalto. Ceres wrapped her wings tightly around Wilbur, Aurelio and Azul preventing the3m from watching Nigel eat the unusual and disgusting food meant for the falcons.

"You feel sick?" crooned Nigel as he took hold another mouse, "Good!"

And with that, he chowed that one down, even more disgustingly than before. Blu then felt his stomach turn violently while Venus and Mercury's beaks flew to their mouths, their cheeks puffed and they rushed off to the furthest point of their cages, away from the others, to throw up. Zephyr and Sapphire, who had Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette in her wings groaned in revulsion while Mars and Chiquitita looked away, with Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre hiding in their wings to prevent seeing the disgusting cockatoo shoving more mice down his throat.

"Seriously, Nigel," shouted Saturn, Orquidea, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus huddling behind him, "You're making the rest of us lose our appetites."

"You're honestly the most disgusting cockatoo we had ever met," shouted Uranus while Esmeralda held Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon close to her. Neptune and Ultramarine's faces looked flushed for they looked nauseated but Indigo and Triton kept their eyes turned away from Nigel as he ate another mouse. Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Charon, Blueberry, Flor and Quincy were huddled together; the skin under Pluto's grey head feathers a deathly pale from nausea. Nigel let loose his signature laughter as he continued watching the macaws and Travis and his family wince and groan in revulsion and ate two more mice when suddenly, three pairs of cat paws appeared behind him and hooked onto his body and wings.

"Come back here, Nigel," snarled Otis as he and two other cats, the male black cat and Adriana, dragged the cockatoo back. "You've caused us enough revulsion and trouble for one day!"

Nigel fought back against the three cats' attempts to pull him back to the group when more cat paws, crow talons and two pairs of falcons talons appeared and locked onto him. Then John, one of Lysandre's underlings, came in and seized Nigel when he refused to go along with the other pets.

"Come on, you sickly cockatoo," he shouted as he carried the struggling Nigel away, "Back to your own food bowl and eat your own meal!"

The cats, crows and two falcons then returned to their food bowls to continue eating. However, some of them including Cometa had lost their appetite thanks to Nigel. The caged macaws and cockatoos also felt nauseated.

"Ugh, I think I've lost my appetite altogether," murmured Blu as he ran a wing over his shuddering stomach. Jewel just shot him a sour glare and said nothing. Jupiter then looked at the cockatoo as he was heavily placed before his food bowl, a flushed look smearing his face like a painting that had water splashed on it.

"I hope we don't ever see that sort of thing again," he groaned. The others also all groaned with relief but their stomachs still shuddered in their bellies. From her hiding place, Catina had left somewhere to throw up. Watching Nigel eat those mice in the most disgusting way possible has definitely made her sick.

Then soon, the poaching group and their pets had finished their dinner. However, Nigel had refused to eat his dinner and had left in a huff. As the humans that had made and prepared the food begun to take away the plates and food bowl to wash, Lysandre called together his group with a clap.

"Right, everyone, to upstairs please," he said, "We're going to go over our plans once again and what we need to do, and then we're going to go to bed."

The others all shouted obediently and left for upstairs. The caged macaws and cockatoos looked on. For the majority of them, hunger had returned once again but the poachers did nothing about it. Cometa shot the macaws and cockatoos a sympathetic gaze.

"We forgot to feed those birds over there," she said to Aliana and Bryony but the latter two just turned their beaks up at this statement.

"Look, just leave those birds," growled Bryony, "They're not worth worrying about now."

"And besides that, we've got more important things to focus on," put in Aliana, "Now come on, Cometa, Lysandre's itching to get this preview briefing of our plans done and dusted."

Cometa, at this, hesitated but then went along. However, she stole another glance at the macaws and cockatoos placed on cages on the floor before disappearing through the door. Nigel sneered at the macaws and cockatoos as he left.

"At least I enjoyed making them feel ill," he crooned sadistically.

"Yeah, I'm sure you did," said Otis sarcastically, "Now come on. We've got a meeting to attend."

Nigel nodded in agreement and left with the others, the other cats, crows and falcons in tow. Soon, the macaws and cockatoos were left alone as soon as the last of the poachers and pets had disappeared. As soon as they were left alone, some of the macaws and Travis began to fiddle with the padlocks. Jupiter slumped down against the bars of his cage, the look of nausea still smearing his face.

"We've got to get out of here," he murmured. Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto all groaned as Ruby began to examine the padlock. As she did that, she shot a sympathetic gaze at Venus and Mercury, who looked around timidly, and then at Carla, Bia and Tiago.

"Those five especially, Jupiter," she said as she examined the padlock, "That Nigel certainly has absorbed sick entertainment out of tormenting us, hasn't he?"

"That cockatoo's an utter vulture, honestly," muttered Jupiter, "I'd never known a cockatoo to be so disgusting."

Saturn, Orquidea, Uranus and Esmeralda all nodded in agreement. While the macaws and cockatoos talked among themselves, Catina began to make her move and began to creep towards the group, having seen the opportunity to put her rescue plan into action and after getting her nausea and throwing up from seeing Nigel eating mice under control. Neptune gazed out into the dark and gloomy air of the ramshackle building's downstairs room.

"I hope our cat and dog friends are planning on a rescue of us," he murmured. "After all, they were involved in this mess when the intruders attacked them and Carla, Bia and Tiago while we were out."

"With an injured Broccoli and Eduarda and the mess of the house to tend to, plus Ginger's unborn puppies, and the dangers of getting caught by this new group of poachers, the chances of Dash and Veggie and company coming after us are pretty slim," said Blu, "Around 0.00000000000001 by probability of success based on my calculations."

"Now's not the time to be yapping on about your nerd bird attributes, Blu," growled Travis as he fiddled with the padlock holding him and Sunset and their chicks into their cage, "Now's the time to focus on escaping…"

He continued fiddling with the padlock but eventually gave up. After punching the cage door with a talon in frustration, Travis slumped down by Sunset and his chicks.

"We're gonna need a key to unlock that thing," he murmured. He then shot Blu a look and said, "Blu, do you think you'd be able to unlock this by picking it with a claw?"

"After all, you are used to unlocking padlocks that way," said Sunset. Blu shook his head. "I can't," he said, "Our cage door's padlocked nine times over."

"Is it?" asked Sunset. Jewel bitterly showed them what Blu meant.

"See for yourself," she growled. At this, Travis and Sunset looked and saw the number of padlocks on the cage door.

"That will take me a good while to pick all of those," said Blu, "Too long in so little time in getting out of here."

"Looks like those cats have remembered that you know how to pick locks," said Neptune with a growl.

"Very clever solution to the problem of your skill indeed (!)," muttered Ultramarine sarcastically.

"Now we'll never get out," groaned Triton despairingly.

"We wanna go home," moaned Indigo. Neptune looked down at his son and daughter. "Look, don't worry, you two, we'll find a way out," he said in a comforting and encouraging voice. The two hyacinth chicks sighed when an idea entered Sunset's head.

"Hey, Neptune, do you think you'd be able to use your beak to break the padlock?" she asked. At this, Neptune looked at her and the glanced at the padlock.

"We haven't tried that yet," said Blu. Jewel looked on impatiently while the others looked on hopefully. Neptune, at this, gazed at everyone.

"Well, I can try that," he said, "Though my beak is very strong, I'm not sure if I'm able to break the padlock. I'll give it a try."

"Well do get on with it please," snarled Jewel, "I'm itching to get out of this miserable place and claw that wretched cockatoo's face in!"

"Jewel," snapped Ultramarine, "You'd get yourself killed if you attempt top attack Nigel."

"And besides that, you'd end up captured again," said Travis. Jewel, at this, bitterly rolled her eyes and then gazed back at Neptune as he clamped his beak on the padlock locking him, Ultramarine, Triton and Indigo into their cage. However, none of the macaws noticed that their calico friend was approaching the group from behind. Catina was now metres away from her caged bird friends when suddenly, her keen ears picked up small patters on the floorboards. At this, she dived back into hiding behind the nearest object: an overfull trash bin. The patters which were of a pair of talons and of a few cat paws also reached the ears of the macaws and cockatoos, turning their attention to the sources of the sounds and making Neptune stop clamping onto the padlock. When their eyes landed on the owners of the patters, the chicks all whimpered in fear while disgust, fear and, in Blu and Jewel's case, acidic hatred and detestation, manifested on the macaws and cockatoos' faces. Then a slick and slimy voice emanated from the bird at the front.

"Hello, pretty birds, I hope you lot are preparing for your sleepless nights and nightmares ahead," crooned the cockatoo at the front of a few cats, Nigel. Behind him were around eight cats, among them Tom, Moggy and Paws and they had been sent back downstairs by Cazador to check on the caged birds while the others in the poaching group prepared for bed. However, Nigel had decided to take this as another opportunity to further taunt and torment the caged group like how he had always done with any of his most hated species of birds on the planet.

"What do you want now, Nigel!?" growled Jupiter bitterly as Ruby looked on equally bitterly and Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto with frightened faces.

"I hope you're not gonna make us feel sick again," put in Zephyr as Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil hid behind him. Venus and Mercury also timidly looked on. Then Nigel sauntered towards Zephyr, making the four chicks cower behind him.

"Yep, but this time it's with fear," crooned the cockatoo sadistically. Jewel looked on with a highly corrosive look on her face, the urge to pounce onto Nigel and brutally claw him boiling within her. Blu also looked on bitterly while Carla, Bia and Tiago shuddered. Then Sapphire shot Mercury and Venus a concerned glare as they began to shake like leaves again. Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette also cowered behind their mother.

"Don't you think you've caused us enough fear for one day?" Sapphire asked. Then Moggy trotted toward her and sat down.

"You know Nigel," she crooned mockingly; "He can't get enough of the entertainment he gets from tormenting you birds."

"That's right," said Tom behind Moggy, "It's like an addictive chocolate treat to him though actual human chocolate is toxic to us but… you get the picture."

"Toxic?!" repeated Mars sourly as Nigel continued taunting Zephyr, "It's toxic stuff alright, the pleasure Nigel gets from taunting exotic birds like us. Whatever happened to the nice Nigel before he turned into this horrible, psychotic vulture of a cockatoo that we know nowadays?"

"Surely he must have been nicer," said Chiquitita. Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre just fearfully gulped and said nothing.

Nigel, at this, snapped from Zephyr to the male green-winged macaw and his unusually small mate. Chiquitita hid behind Mars for fear of a talon flying at her from Nigel and clawing her again. The scratch on her belly has healed up now but it was still painful.

"For your information, red pretty bird with blue and green wings," growled Nigel as he sauntered towards Mars, making the latter puff his feathers out, "I was NEVER a nice cockatoo at all."

He then shoved his face into Mars's, making the green-winged macaw wince in revulsion from the stench that tainted Nigel's breath, for it did indeed stink, probably from what the cockatoo ate.

"But… I will explain to you and your little friends," Nigel's gaze then moved to Blu and Jewel, the pH of it lowering drastically as his brown eyes landed on his two most hated Spix macaws, "And remind those two slime worms in blue feathers over there of how I became nasty."

He then turned and nodded to the eight cats that had come with him. Moggy, Tom and Paws and the other five unnamed nodded and prepared as Nigel ran away from Mars and his family.

"I know I'm not a pretty birdie," crooned Nigel, "I never have been in fact, but I used to be… a handsome and attractive looker…"

The caged macaws and cockatoos just gazed at him bitterly. Then Nigel took up his position, the cats behind him. From her new hiding place, Catina watched but there was also another watcher as well. One of the falcons, Cometa, had come down to watch Nigel and the eight cats as they prepared to enter some sort of song, but it wasn't a nice song. It was an ugly song.

Nigel (song starts up): I was strikin' suave, ambitious, feet to beak, so birdi-licious…

He then jumped before the group of caged birds and gave then an acidic stare, his crest raised. Behind him, the eight cats danced like baking dancers.

Nigel: Now, I'm vile, I am villainous, and vicious… oh, an malicious.

He then jumped back before the dancing eight cats and began to break dance.

Nigel: I had it all, a TV show, women too, I was tall, over one foot two…

And then they got a pretty parakeet to fill my shoes, that's why I am EVIL and do what I do.

The audience of caged birds looked on bitterly or timidly. Catina also watched from behind the trash bin and Cometa from the door as the eight cats began to sing as a chorus.

Eight cats: He was a su-perstar

Nigel: So young and vital

Eight cats: Now he's nast-teee

Nigel (imagines his fame across South America) A South American idol

Moggy (evil look on her face): He's a suspicious bird!

Nigel: who said that about me?

Tom and Paws (evil looks on their faces): A very vicious bird!

Nigel then jumped over to Blu and Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago, Venus and Mercury.

Nigel (face against Blu and Jewel's cage): I'll have you rotisseried (Jewel screeches like a cat and lashes a talon at Nigel's face but he dodges).

Nigel (goes over to Zephyr, Sapphire and their chicks): I am a feathery freak, with a BEAK (Jumps over to Mercury and Venus who react in fear) A bird murderer. You think you're badder than me? I've never heard of ya!

Nigel (Goes over to Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and their families): I'm evil, I'll fill your cheese balls with weevils (Esmeralda flinches in utter revulsion), I poop on people and I blame it on the seagulls (Neptune makes disgusted face with tongue hanging out of beak while Ultramarine covers Triton and Indigo's ears).

Nigel then leaped away and back before the dancing cats.

Eight cats: He's a _nasty_ bird

Nigel: I'm invincible

Tom and Paws: He's GHASTLY

Nigel: I'm unminceable, I'm unwashable, untinceable. Like an abandoned school (taunts caged birds with scary leering face) I have no principle!

Then Nigel began to modify his sickly song to describe what happened to his flight. He sauntered towards the caged birds, acidic eyes on Blu and Jewel.

Nigel: I used to fly, you know, fly high in the sky. Like a graceful bird, I soured very high. (Jumps over to Blu and Jewel) But now, because of you, you two, includin' you, Blu, I'm grounded! To see that you can fly, Blu, I'm astounded.

Nigel then backed away and continued singing his modified song.

Nigel: But I won't let that make me root to the spot in awe, no! If I did that, stand on the ground watchin' you soar; it would only make my heart bitter and sore.

Nigel then leaped over to Blu and Jewel once again.

Nigel: And because of the utter loss you caused me, you are gonna pay Blu, dearly. I'm…

Suddenly, a loud voice sounded from behind the dancing group of cats and cockatoo, interrupting the song.

"Nigel, you eight cats; get back upstairs!" shouted the voice. At this, Nigel, Tom, Paws, Moggy and the other five cats looked up and saw the voice's owner, Cazador. The lead falcon stood there on the table with an angry look on his face.

"I only sent you nine down here to check on the caged birds," said Cazador, "Not entertain them with some stupid song."

"But Cazador," said Nigel.

"No 'buts'," snapped Cazador, "We have an important meeting to attend. Now come back up here. Lysandre and the others are waiting for you."

At this, Moggy, Tom and Paws looked at each other before running off towards the door and disappeared through it with the other five cats in tow. Nigel followed but before he left, he glared back sadistically at the caged birds, especially Blu and Jewel.

"To be continued," he crooned.

"To be continued NOT!" bellowed Zephyr but Nigel didn't hear him as he left. Cazador then shot the caged birds one final glare to check them before leaving himself. From her hiding place, Cometa left as well. As soon as Nigel and the others had disappeared with Cazador following them, the caged birds were left badly shaken.

"I did NOT like his song one bit," snarled Sunset as she held the shivering Eustace, Milo and Rosa.

"The song was well put together," said Travis, "But the lyrics were utterly awful."

Neptune then resumed trying to bite down on the padlock to break it and free himself and his family.

"Those lyrics were as disgusting as his eating habits, honestly," muttered Mars.

"We've seriously got to get out of here," murmured Jupiter. The others nodded in agreement. Behind them from her hiding place, Catina also began to make her move. She too, was repulsed by Nigel's song and could not wait to get her feathered friends out of this dilapidated place, and away from the disgusting cockatoo.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19- a partially successful rescue attempt**

The macaws and cockatoos stood or slumped in their cages in the dark, stale room. The poachers and their pets had all gone to bed after Lysandre's review of the poaching plans and had left the birds down here had been left hungry, frightened and trapped in a cloak of despair. Mercury and Venus were hysterical with utter fear while the others were wracked with fear, especially the chicks. Nigel's song had doubled the weight of fear and fright in their hearts, especially those of Mercury, Venus and the chicks. While all the macaws were murmuring with their stomachs growling, Jupiter turned to Neptune, Ultramarine, Triton and Indigo and saw Neptune clamp his beak onto the padlock holding him and his family into their cage.

"How are you doing with that, Neptune?" asked the male scarlet macaw. Neptune continued biting down on the padlock in an attempt to break it but it wouldn't even crack. At this, he released the padlocked and slapped a large wing against the cage door.

"That thing is tougher than a coconut shell, honestly," muttered the hyacinth macaw, "It wouldn't even crack, much less become unlocked."

"Then we'll never get out," groaned Triton.

"We're stuck here forever," murmured Indigo.

"Oh, don't be so melodramatic, Indigo," said Ultramarine trying to comfort and encourage her and her brother, "We'll find a way out somehow."

The two hyacinth macaw chicks both groaned while Uranus looked on.

"We've just GOT to, Ultramarine," he muttered, "I'm still disturbed by that disgusting cockatoo's song. It certainly didn't do Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon any good."

At this, Ultramarine and Neptune turned and saw the five great green macaw chicks in Esmeralda's wings, disturbed looks plastering their faces.

"It didn't do any of us any good," snarled Blu bitterly.

"We had to put up with that foul song when we were held captive by Nigel's group while we were chained together," put in Jewel.

"Did you?" asked Zephyr. Blu and Jewel nodded. As Zephyr said this, a cat-shaped figure continued quickly approaching them. Catina was now around a few metres away from her feathered friends but before she could take another step toward them, her sensitive ears and acute hearing picked up some sounds. At this, the calico dived into hiding back behind the trash bin. The sounds, which were the sounds of flapping wings, also reached the ears of the macaws and cockatoos, alerting them. Travis looked around, his yellow crest fully raised as he became nervous.

"Now what?" he asked bitterly. Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa also looked around, their crests fully raised as well. The macaws also shot wary glances in all directions as well but could not find the owner of the flapping wings. Then the flapping wings stopped, replaced by the sound of two clawed talons touching the floor. This sent shivers coursing through the birds' skins all the more.

"Who is there!" shouted Jupiter, his vermillion feathers raised. Ruby had her wings protectively around Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, eyes warily scanning the dark surroundings. Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto, Mars and Travis and their families also looked around while Zephyr and Sapphire had their wings surrounding their chicks and Mercury, Venus, Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago scanned the dark surroundings, eyes full of bitterness or fear. Carla, Bia and Tiago were shivering and huddled together in one corner of the cage.

"Please don't get suspicious or hostile," said a voice, making the group jump, "It's only me."

At this, the caged birds all looked around until their eyes landed on a grey and ivory falcon as it approached them. At this, the macaws and cockatoos took up defence positions. From her hiding place, Catina looked on, fur puffed out as she watched the falcon approach the caged group. As the falcon approached the group, it had did not have a look of scorn on its face, but a look of remorse and sympathy. The falcon also appeared to be dragging something behind it. However, the macaws and cockatoos had their feathers raised in distrust.

"What do you want?" growled Jupiter suspiciously, his wings spread protectively across Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Zephyr had Justin Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil hugged close to him while Sapphire had Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette huddled close to her. Saturn and Orquidea had their wings protectively surrounding Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus, Esmeralda and Uranus also had their wings surrounding Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon, Neptune had his wing shielding Ultramarine, Triton and Indigo from view of the falcon as the latter three huddled together, Mars, Chiquitita, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre were also huddled close together, Chiquitita flinching from the pain of her half-healed scratch inflicted upon her earlier by Nigel, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Charon, Quincy, Flor and Blueberry, Ceres, Cobalto, Aurelio, Azul and Wilbur and Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa were also huddled together as they watched the falcon approach the group. Mercury, Venus, Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago just looked on warily and timidly, Jewel with an especially bitter expression smearing her face. The falcon, a female and a sympathetic look on her face, continued approach the group and stopped. She had a large bag behind her and Blu deduced it, to his surprise, to be a bag of fruit.

"Who are you and what do you want?" asked Jupiter again. The falcon then lifted a talon and slashed the plastic of the bag, tearing it open and spilling its brightly coloured contents all over the floor, her eyes closed in remorse.

"My name is Cometa and I'm going to feed you lot," she said, picking up a piece of mango, "I'm really sorry that my group had not bothered to do that job. I imagine you lot must be starving by now."

The macaws and cockatoos did not know how to reply to this, but when the chicks heard Cometa mention 'food', their heads popped up. Carla, Bia and Tiago eyed the bag of fruit Cometa had just torn open. However, some of the adults were still suspicious.

"Shall we accept the food from that falcon, Jupiter?" asked Mars as Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre became excited.

"Wait," growled Jupiter suspiciously, "What if that falcon might be trying to trick us?"

Then he snarled at Cometa, "Is this some sort of trap you're trying to lead us to!?"

"If it is," put in Jewel acidly, Blu looking on unsurely, "I'm gonna SKIN YA ALIVE!"

Cometa flinched at the angry shots of comments from Jupiter and Jewel.

"I-I-I'm not tricking you," she begged, "I'm only gonna feed you. Now p-p-p-please trust me because if you don't, your hunger is going to increase and you're gonna end up weakening, especially your chicks."

Mercury and Venus looked up at Jupiter, Jewel and then at Sapphire and Zephyr as Justin and his three siblings and Phoebe and her two sisters eyed the fruit behind Cometa.

"We have to," said Mercury as he stomach rumbled again, "I'm already feeling weak and if we don't eat, we're gonna collapse sooner or later."

"Especially our chicks," said Venus as she gazed at Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil and the other chicks. Because they were still growing, chicks needed plenty of food, especially the hyacinth macaw chicks Triton and Indigo due to their species being larger than the other macaw species. They were about to enter a growth spurt anytime soon and must be fed quite a lot to help them through it. Furthermore, the strength of the caged birds was fading and Cometa could see that. Mars, Pluto and Ceres then began to protest to the suspicious adults including Travis and Sunset to trust Cometa as well for they had no choice. At first the others did not listen but then relented.

"Alright," said Jupiter to Pluto, Ceres, Mars, Venus and Mercury, "But I want you guys to know, she might be tricking us because she is one of those poachers' falcons. If that is true, you lot will be the ones to blame."

"That's right," put in Zephyr, making Venus and Mercury back away, "After her comrades refused to feed us."

Then when Cometa saw that it was safe to approach the macaws and cockatoos, she began to drag the bag closer to them. However, she was particularly wary of Jewel, her face in its bitterest expression and cerulean feathers flared out like the fur of a cat whenever it got angry or felt threatened. As soon as Cometa was in front of Jupiter and his family's cage, she quickly took out some fruit, a few mango slices and some berries, and passed it through the bars of the cage. The moment she did this, Io, Europa, Callisto and Ganymede went ballistic.

"Whoa, kids, DON'T," began Ruby but her four chicks ignored her and dived at the food the moment they were inserted through the bars. As the three sisters and brother began to wolf down the fruit pieces, Cometa turned to feeding Jupiter and Ruby. Next to the scarlet macaws, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre became excited and converged to the nearest point of the cage to Cometa, eyes fixated on the fruit.

"Whoa, wait your turn, sons," commanded Mars.

"Wait until that falcon comes to us," said Chiquitita. As Cometa watched Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto chow down the fruit, bits of it and its juice flying everywhere, she looked unsurprised.

"They must be extremely hungry," she said as she handed a large talon-ful of fruit, berries, mango slices, camu-camu fruit, to Ruby and Jupiter.

"Yes, yes, yes, just give us the food, falcon," snapped Jupiter bossily. Cometa flinched and did so and the two scarlet macaws began to eat. Cometa then went to Mars and his family and fed them enough fruit to fill their stomachs as well, and like Io and her three siblings, Phobos and his brothers went bonkers and began stuffing their faces on the fruit while Mars and Chiquitita simply ate. Next, Cometa fed Saturn and his large family, then Uranus, Ceres, Pluto, and Travis and their families. When she came to Neptune, she handed them a larger portion of food because of their species, before moving on to feed the Lear's and Spix macaws. She first fed Zephyr and his four chicks, then Sapphire and her three daughters, Carla, Bia and Tiago, then Blu and Jewel and then finally, Mercury and Venus. Soon, the stale air hanging over the caged birds was filled with the sounds of munching and chomping of fruit. The chicks were especially shoving the fruit down their throats much to some of the adults' disapproval. Even Carla and Bia were eating like pigs. Though they had good manners, the chicks were so hungry that they couldn't wait to fill their stomachs.

"Boy, I'm so glad to be eating," said Mimas with her mouth full of starfruit.

"We haven't eaten a thing all day since breakfast," said Enceladus after shoving a large lump of pineapple flesh down his throat. His face came out covered in pineapple juice. Dione, Rhea, Titan, Tethys and Iapetus were too hungry to even speak.

"At least one of those falcon creeps has listened to our cries of hunger," growled Saturn bitterly as he ate a bunch of grapes and berries, a glance at Cometa.

"Huh, I couldn't care less," muttered Orquidea, "At least we've had something to eat tonight."

"Neptune and his family especially needed it," said Uranus nearby as Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon stuffed their faces, "Because their species are so large and their chicks have a lot of growing up ahead of them, they need plenty of food."

"Triton and Indigo are already starting to put some distance between their heights and those of the other chicks," said Neptune, "And will be doing for quite some time, until they reach adolescence."

Ultramarine, Triton and Indigo just continued eating and said nothing. As the macaws and cockatoos continued eating, Cometa then moved on to examine the padlock locking Mercury into his cage. Sapphire shot the falcon a suspicious glare.

"NOW what are you doing!?" she snarled.

"I'm going to try and free you lot," said Cometa, "As soon as you've finished eating your fruit, we're out of this place."

Surprise and shock struck the macaws and cockatoos including Blu and Jewel.

"Wait a second," said Blu as he ate a mango piece, "You… you're against your group?"

"Now that is interesting (!)" said Jewel sarcastically. Cometa shot the Spix macaw pair a disgusted look.

"On the outside, I'm just one of Lysandre's falcons and obedient to his rules and commands," she said, "But up close, I'm actually against them and their plans. I haven't time to explain everything. We've got to get you out of this place now before any of my group show up."

And with that, she resumed examining the padlock on Mercury's cage. However, Cometa was unaware that she was being watched. Catina the calico had crept out of her hiding place and was approaching her feathered friends, but her eyes were fixed on a bird not in one of the cages. While Cometa continued fiddling with the padlock on Mercury's cage, Blu's face fell in remorse.

"We shouldn't have come back for the summer," he murmured, "If only we had seen this coming, we wouldn't have been in this mess, and now our three chicks are going to be traumatised."

"Hey, it's not your fault," said Jewel, "And besides that, it was your idea to come back to Rio for the summer."

Blu shot his mate a glare. "Hey, it was YOU who said that we could do summers in Rio."

Jewel's eyes flashed in offense. "Are you blaming me for this mess, Blu!?" she growled.

"No, I'm not," snapped Blu, "It's just that we didn't expect that filthy cockatoo to find Susan and Lucy's house and then kidnap us! How DARE you say that I'm blaming you for THIS MESS!"

"DON'T YA SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT, PET!" screeched Jewel at the top of her voice. Then before the two could escalate into a heated argument, Zephyr intervened.

"Blu, Jewel," he said gently. At this, Blu and Jewel glared at each other and then turned their backs on each other, their faces in a huff and wings folded. The brief falling out had captured the other macaws and cockatoos' attention. Cometa also shot the Spix macaw couple a surprised look before resuming seeing to the padlock on Mercury's cage.

"Wow, Mom and Dad certainly do sometimes get into a bit of an argument, don't they," said Carla. She and her brother and sister had finished their fruit. Bia and Tiago just said nothing.

"Good job Nigel is upstairs asleep," said Sapphire sourly, "If he had heard those two have a falling out like that, he'd have enjoyed listening to the music."

"I NEVER liked that cockatoo since we first met him," growled Cometa sourly and disgustedly as she began to fiddle with the padlock with a claw to unlock it. She had obviously not bothered in getting the padlocks' key and wanted to free the birds as soon as possible. "I think he's a vile and disgusting cockatoo with equally disgusting eating habits and attitude."

Sapphire shot her a surprised look as Jewel said sarcastically, "Join the perch, falcon."

"How he shoved those mice down his throat made me feel sick, honestly," muttered Cometa. Then after a few more seconds of fiddling with the padlock, she finally clicked the device's hook from its locking mechanism inside its body. As soon as she had done that, Cometa opened the door and Mercury rushed out.

"He and the pigtailed Spix macaw especially look stressed being separate from you guys," Cometa said as Mercury dived for Sapphire and their three daughters in their cage, longingly, holding onto the cage bars, "Anyway, time to free the next one…"

She then went over to Venus but before she could put her wings on her cage's padlock, a white blur smeared with ginger and black appeared from nowhere and pounced onto Cometa. The macaws and cockatoos all jumped when the screeches of an angry cat reached their ears. Then they saw a white creature with black and ginger blotches marking her body as though she had been splattered with paint then pin Cometa down on her back with a paw to the throat.

"GET AWAY FROM THOSE MACAWS AND COCKATOOS, you FILTHY BIRD OF PREY!" snarled the cat as she pinned Cometa against the floor, her fur puffed out and baby blue eyes ablaze with rage, much to Cometa's surprise. The macaws and cockatoos recognised the calico cat.

"CATINA!?" shouted Jupiter in shock. The others said nothing, too shocked to speak, but then Mercury stepped in.

"Wait, Catina," he cried, "That falcon's on our side. She fed us and was going about freeing us from our cages."

Cometa shot Mercury a desperate look as Catina's paw threatened to squeeze her windpipe and cut off her breathing. Then Catina shot Mercury a glare.

"But this falcon's one of those poachers' birds," she snapped, "She should NOT be trusted."

"Look, we don't have time for an argument," retorted Mercury, "Those poachers could show up any moment. If you don't allow her to free us, we could be caught."

"Please," said Cometa to Catina desperately, turning the calico's attention to her, "Please allow me to free the other macaws and cockatoos. There are quite a number of cages that need unlocking to, especially the one holding one of the breeding Blu Bird Sanctuary Spix macaw pairs as that has up to nine padlocks to unlock. You have to trust me."

Catina, at this, gazed at Cometa in slight horror before shooting a glance at Blu and Jewel's cage. To her surprise, there were a number of padlocks attached to the cage door. Mercury looked on hoping that Catina would listen to his and Cometa's pleas, the other caged birds still to be freed looking on silently. Finally, Catina relented and stepped off of Cometa, allowing her to stand up. The moment the falcon stood up, Cometa found herself confronted by a cat paw with its claws protracted.

"You have just ONE CHANCE to free my feathered friends, falcon," hissed Catina, a furious look still burning on her face and her fur puffed out, and her teeth bared, an expression of a cat's threat and anger, "Or else you'll be awarding yourself with a sequence of painful scratches if you disobey. Now _start unlocking those cages!"_

Cometa, a gulp sound escaping her throat, timidly nodded and returned to Venus's cage to unlock the padlock binding the door to Venus's cage shut. The others and Mercury looked on as Blu set to trying to unlock the first of the nine padlocks.

"I'll help as well," he said. Jewel just shot him a bitter glare and released a huff sound. And with that, Blu inserted a talon claw into the padlock's keyhole and began to fiddle with it. With Catina standing like over Cometa like a parent over a badly behaved child refusing to do his homework, her claws still protracted and held close to her and threatening to scratch her, Cometa fiddled with the padlock holding Venus in her cage. Then after some fiddling, Cometa unlocked the padlock and opened the door, allowing Venus to leave. She made a beeline for Zephyr and threw her wings around him, despite the two being separated from each other by a wall of bars. As the Spix macaws hugged each other, Cometa set to fiddling with the padlock locking Carla, Bia and Tiago in their cage, the three chicks desperately looking on.

"I hope this isn't gonna take all night," complained Cometa as she twiddled her claw in the padlock's keyhole.

"Shut up and get cracking," snarled Catina threateningly. Cometa obeyed without a second's hesitation. Blu shot a glance at Zephyr and Venus as they remained locked in an embrace, tears streaming down Venus's eyes and sighed. He felt guilty having briefly argued with Jewel and hoped to make up with her sooner or later but he did not have time to worry about that. He had to free himself and Jewel from this cage. Then a click was heard as Cometa unlocked the padlock holding Blu and Jewel's chicks in their cage. As soon as she had opened the cage door and the three chicks ran out, Catina ordered them, "Now you three stand near Venus and Zephyr while we free everyone else."

Carla, Bia and Tiago obeyed and rushed over to Venus to wait by her side as Catina and Cometa ran over to Blu and Jewel's cage but Blu said, "No, free the others that have just one padlock on their cages. If you concentrated on us, you'd lose precious time."

Cometa and Catina, at this, shot Blu a reluctant glare and then obeyed and went over to Mars and his family's cage. Catina, however, shot the knot of padlocks on Blu and Jewel's cage.

"That is going to take forever to get through," she muttered, "We might have to get Jupiter or Neptune to carry out that cage when we have freed everyone else."

Cometa then began to work on the padlock holding Mars and his family in their cage. As Cometa fiddled with the padlock, Catina saw the faint red streaks on Chiquitita's belly. Though the claw marks were almost invisible against the small green-winged macaw's red plumage, Catina could still make out the crustiness of the half-healed wound.

"Good grief, how have you scratched yourself, Chiq?" asked the calico in horror.

"Nigel clawed me down the front after I clawed his cheek for intimidating us," Chiquitita replied.

"We'd better get you to Tulio's Aviary to have that looked at," said Catina seriously, "If that wound is infected, it could jeopardise your life."

"Jeopardise?" repeated Mars but then it dawned upon him. Nigel had had his talons in various unhygienic materials such as dirt. If any of the bacteria he had picked up had got into Chiquitita's wound when he clawed her down the front, it's a possibility that Chiquitita's scratch might end up infected. This was backed up by Catina's next statement for she had known the filthy cockatoo for so long.

"Nigel never washes, not even once in his life, and he absolutely detests baths and anything clean," said Catina as Cometa clicked the hook of the padlock out of its lock, "So he's a very dirty cockatoo. Chiquitita might not show any sign of infection now but that may change as time goes by, so she needs to be taken to Tulio's Aviary as soon as possible to get that wound cleaned and treated."

Mars shot Chiquitita a worried look and saw that Catina could be right. However, it was clear that Chiquitita's scratch she had received from Nigel was entering its initial stages of infection for there were a few slivers of sickly green-yellow dotting the fresh pink and red crust where the blood had dried. In the next few hours, that will get worse and Chiquitita will weaken with her temperature soaring as a fever will take hold. Chiquitita was fine now but as time went by, that will change. As Mars and his family exited the cage with Cometa and Catina moving on to free Jupiter and his family, Mars examined Chiquitita's scratch closely. To his utter horror, his orange eyes got a glimpse of the dots of sickly green-yellow scattered throughout the streaks of fresh pink-red dried blood.

"Looks like your scratch is becoming infected now," said Mars to Chiquitita.

"Is it?" asked Chiquitita. Mars then gave her a dark look.

"There's no doubt that that will get worse," he said, "Unless you seek medical attention, that infection could manifest and you could end up entering a feverish state and serious weakness, and even later, that wound will become life-threatening."

"Look, Mars, I'm fine," snapped Chiquitita, sure that there was nothing wrong. "I feel fine and this scratch is only healing. There's nothing wrong with it."

Mars was about to reply when Catina's voice sounded.

"You green-winged macaws get out of here and get Chiquitita to Tulio's Aviary," said the calico as Cometa clicked open Jupiter's cage's padlock, freeing the scarlet macaws before moving onto Travis and his family, "Don't worry about us."

"But Catina, it's night time," protested Mars, "There won't be any bird doctors around until the morning."

Chiquitita rolled her eyes in stubbornness and annoyance.

"Yes there is," said Jupiter, "You remember when Ellery accidentally injured her talon by stepping on a shard of glass during a night out before you and Chiquitita became mates and you went to Nico and Pedro's club with a group of a few green-winged macaws and you and Chiquitita had to take her to Tulio's Aviary at night?"

"Any bird with a serious injury is never left on their own or unattended by a bird doctor even at night," said Ruby.

"Yes," said Mars.

"Well then, get your mate to Tulio's Aviary," commanded Jupiter sternly, "And get your family out of here as well."

Mars, however, was rooted to the spot with reluctance.

"What about you guys?" he asked.

"Don't worry about us," said Jupiter, "We'll be fine. Now get out of here before any of those poachers show up."

"Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre are itching to get out, anyway," said Ruby. Mars looked down at his three sons and saw that Ruby was right. The three brothers were clearly afraid of this place. Reluctantly obeying Jupiter's command and concerned for his family, Mars opened his wings and took off, Chiquitita, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre in tow. Before disappearing out through one of the broken windows, Mars shouted, "I hope the rest of you get out in one piece!"

Then soon, the five green-winged macaws were gone. Cometa then opened the door after unlocking the padlock and allowed Travis and his family to escape before turning to Zephyr and his four chicks, Venus's family. Blu continued fiddling the first padlock and finally managed to click it open. As the cockatoos stood by Jupiter and his family, Travis was relieved to get out of the cage but at the same time he was worried. However, the group was unaware that the activities had already alerted someone. Three of the crows had been downstairs and had seen Venus and Mercury leave their cages, but they had not seen Catina and Cometa. Struck with horror, they had disappeared upstairs to fetch their comrades.

"We don't have much time, Jupiter," Travis said, "We've still got plenty of cages to get through."

Jupiter shot a concerned look at Blu and Jewel as Blu continued fiddling with the next padlock.

"Those two might need carrying," he said, "There's no way we're going to spend a while trying to get through that many padlocks."

Then a click was heard as Cometa unlocked the padlock holding Zephyr and his four chicks in and the seven macaws all exited their cage and joined Venus, Carla, Bia and Tiago. Cometa then moved on to Sapphire's cage and began to unlock the padlock, but not quite in time. There were still Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Pluto's families to free, and Cometa was struggling. She was clearly under stress and was sometimes lapsing in concentration with her task. With little time before her groupmates showed up, and they could do so any moment, and with Catina's claws threatening to come down on her if she even delayed, the falcon's heard was racing and she was shaking. As she finally managed to unlock the padlock holding Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette in their cage, Saturn looked on impatiently.

"Could you go any faster?" he growled as Sapphire and her daughters left and joined Mercury, "There are still five cages to get through."

Uranus, Esmeralda, Neptune, Ultramarine, Ceres, Cobalto, Lapis Lazuli and Pluto also looked on impatiently.

"I'm going as fast as I can," said Cometa stressfully as she walked over to unlock Saturn's cage's padlock, "But there are so many cages."

"Well, speed up," shouted Uranus angrily.

"You've got us to free yet," put in Neptune.

"And you're going TOO SLOW!" shouted Esmeralda with clear distrust. Cometa ignored her and set to unlocking Saturn and his family's cage padlock, Catina watching intently and making sure that she did not stop even for a second. However, Cometa was not going to get any further with freeing the macaws and cockatoos when what happened next threw everything into chaos. The lights suddenly turned on and a shout was heard. At this, all heads turned in the direction of the shout's owner, horror exploding like a shockwave through them.

"We've BEEN CAUGHT RED TALONED!" shouted Ruby. At this, Catina rocketed off to hide and Cometa and the freed macaws immediately lofted into flight. At this, Lysandre shot a finger at the escaped macaws and commanded his falcons and crows to retrieve them and then the cats and his underlings to ready the empty cages once the escaped macaws were caught. Cazador, Swoop, Xerosic, Aliana and Bryony obeyed and flew off after the flying macaws and cockatoos, a flock of crows in tow. When she saw the five grey and ivory birds of prey and a large flock of black birds fly after them, Ruby grabbed Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto and began to follow Jupiter as he began to look for an escape while Zephyr grabbed Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil, two in each talon and Venus grabbed Carla, Bia and Tiago. Sapphire did the same with Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette and Travis and Sunset with Eustace, Milo and Rosa as they screamed in fright, and the macaws and cockatoos accelerated to try and out-fly the falcons and crows. Then soon, a wild aerial chase started up as the falcons began to pursue the macaws and cockatoos in an attempt to grab them. While the falcons and crows rushed after the macaws as they attempted to escape, Nigel tried to join in the chase. He spread his tattered wings and began to try and take off, flapping his wings like he usually would during take-off. However, he forgot once again that he could not fly anymore and each time he tried to take to the air, he only ended up falling back to earth again with a belly flop. However, fuelled by determination, Nigel got up and tried again but he fell back to earth. He tried again but crashed on his belly again. As he crashed back onto the floor the third time, Otis ran up to him.

"There's no point in trying to take off if you can't fly, Nigel," said the black and white cat annoyed, "Now help us ready the cages when those falcons and crows catch those escaped birds!"

Nigel slapped a tattered wing on the floor and obeyed, his brown ewes jealously fixated on the falcons and crows as they chased after the escaped macaws and cockatoos. From the ground, Cometa looked on in horror while Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto and their families, and Blu and Jewel also watched. Cats had gathered around them to keep an eye on them while their teammates focussed on retrieving the escaped birds. Blu and Jewel saw Carla, Bia and Tiago in Venus's talons.

"Take our kids to safety, Venus!" shouted Jewel as Zephyr and Venus flew directly over the caged group with Bryony and Aliana in hot pursuit. Suddenly, a cat paw slapped against her and Blu's cage.

"Shut up, macaw," snarled the paw's owner, a female brown cat. Jewel released a huff of bitter frustration and did as she was told. From her hiding place, Catina also watched the commotion.

Zephyr and Venus, their talons tightly wrapped around their four kids and the three kids of Blu and Jewel, rocketed around with Aliana and Bryony hot on their tails. Xerosic and Swoop were chasing Mercury and his family and Cazador and a flock of six crows pursued Jupiter and Ruby. During the aggressive aerial chase of falcons and crows vs macaws, Travis and his family had managed to make their escape through one of the broken windows' escaping straight out of the large hole in the glass. However, the other three families were still shooting around like blue or cerulean, dark navy and teal or red, teal or blue and yellow comets with grey and ivory or black comets right behind them. Lysandre shouted to Bryony and Aliana as they continued pursuing Venus and her family as they rocketed over him, "Don't let those Spix macaws escape!"

Nigel and the cats on the ground looked on, Nigel jealously watching Bryony and Aliana as they chased Zephyr and Venus around with such agility.

"Wish I could do that," he growled. He then shot a bitter glare at Blu and Jewel and hissed. In Venus's talons, Carla, Bia, Tiago, Virgil and all screamed as their eyes gazed in terror at the two fearsome birds of prey, their sharp and predatory eyes burning with determination to capture the Spix macaws and cage them. Both Zephyr and Venus were pumped up with adrenaline, desperate to escape the poachers' falcons and den and to safety, but they were wracked with confusion as to where the exit where Travis, Mars and his families had left.

"Hold on," shouted Zephyr to Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil as he swerved sharply to the left, Venus closely behind and with Aliana and Bryony right behind her. The two falcons both swerved with such sharpness that they were able to cut the corner made by Zephyr and Venus and close the gap between them by a drastic amount. Elsewhere, Sapphire and Mercury were desperately trying to out-fly Xerosic and Swoop. Like Venus and Zephyr, both the adult Lear's macaws were flooded with adrenaline, their talons clamped around their daughters and their wings beating like mad.

"We've got to get out of here," shouted Mercury to Sapphire with a glance at Xerosic and Swoop, "Once we escape, we're gonna fly straight to Tulio's Aviary to alert the staff there of this place and the poachers!"

"I'm afraid it won't happen, Lear's macaw," shouted Xerosic sneeringly as the chasers and chased sharply cornered. Swoop reached out with his talons in an attempt to grab Sapphire but she managed to dodge and narrowly escape suffering having her wing slashed by his lethal claws. However, a navy blue feather got caught in one of Swoop's claws and was torn from Sapphire's wing. The feather then fluttered down towards the ground through the air.

"Careful, Swoop," shouted Xerosic, "We don't want to hurt these precious macaws."

Swoop sighed and continued the pursuit of the Lear's macaw family. While Xerosic and Swoop continued pursuing Mercury and his family, Cazador continued chasing Jupiter and his family with some of the crow grunts close behind. In Ruby's talons, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto hung on for dear life, screaming in terror at the wild rollercoaster ride, especially as they were swung violently to one side or the other as Ruby banked like an airplane during cornering. Ahead of her, Jupiter continued scanning the environment for the exit. He was clearly under stress. Jupiter remembered being in a chase like this before with Brutus years ago when shortly after he and his group had escaped Otis and his group and owners' den but that had been on foot. This chase was even wilder for it was in the air and not on the ground, and the chasers were vicious birds of prey and evil crows with amazing flying skills and agility. However, Jupiter did not care about this. All he cared about was getting his family to safety. On the ground, the still-caged birds continued to watch on in horror while the cats watched on in hope.

"Jupiter, Ruby, Mercury, Sapphire, Venus, Zephyr!" cried Pluto. Lapis Lazuli, Charon, Blueberry, Flor and Quincy just looked on in horror.

"The window's over there," shouted Ceres but Cobalto hushed at her to shut up about that.

"The cats will hear you mention that!" he hissed. Ceres then shut her beak and continued to watch the three free families as they continued to try and desperately escape. Wilbur, Aurelio and Azul looked on in awe at the falcons' agility.

"Look how sharp those falcons can corner," shouted Wilbur as he watched Cazador turn sharply after Jupiter and his family, closely on Ruby's tail, "There's no way even for Uncle Mercury to out-fly those brutes."

It was true. Though Mercury was a highly agile flyer capable of cornering sharply and flying at high speeds, he was no match for Xerosic and Swoop who were capable of turning even sharper and flying even faster, and those two falcons were closing in on the Lear's macaw and his mate and daughters. Saturn, Orquidea, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus also watched on in horror as did Uranus, Esmeralda, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon, Blu and Jewel, Neptune, Ultramarine, Triton and Indigo. From her hiding place, Catina also watched on in horror while Cometa who stood by Otis also watched eyes wide with horror. Then after a few more minutes of wild chasing and flying around like airplanes, the falcons began to capture the macaws in their talons but in brutal ways. Lysandre and his many underlings watched on as their bird of prey pets began to capture the escaped macaws. Zephyr and Venus were the first to be caught. As exhaustion overtook the adult Spix macaws like a black cloud, Bryony and Aliana flew in for the capture. Bryony's talons went straight for Zephyr's neck and wrapped around it like a pair of iron-hands while Aliana's talons wrapped around Venus's left wing. Zephyr and Venus, both taken by utter surprise, loosened their grip on the seven chicks and sent them plummeting through the air. Justin screamed and flailed like a helpless fish as he fell through space but was soon captured by a pair of crow talons. Another pair of crow talons then shot in and caught Charlotte, and five more pairs of crow talons darted out and captured Matilda, Virgil, Carla, Bia and Tiago and snatched them out of the air like flies. As soon as the crows had captured the seven chicks, they hauled them toward a group of cats waiting with an empty cage on the ground, Bryony and Aliana following closely behind with Zephyr and Venus in their talons. All nine Spix macaws were thrown into the cage, one after the other, and the cage was slammed shut and padlocked by Adriana. Next, Xerosic and Swoop had managed to catch Mercury and Sapphire, Xerosic catching the former by the neck and Swoop the latter by her long head feathers. Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette were thrown into the air and then caught by three more crows. Then the five Lear's macaws were hauled back down to earth toward another group of cats with an empty cage, its door open. Then as soon as five thuds sounded from the cage as Mercury and his family were tossed into it by Swoop, Xerosic and the three crows, Tom slammed the cage door shut and padlocked it. Venus, Zephyr, Mercury and Sapphire were clearly out of puff and were breathing heavily while the chicks were trembling, the whole ordeal having frightened them.

"Good job, you lot," shouted Gale, one of Lysandre's underlings, to Aliana, Bryony, Xerosic and Swoop and to the crows that had captured the chicks. however, there was still another free macaw family to catch., Jupiter and Ruby were still flying around like mad trying to outrun Cazador and his crows but like what happened to Mercury, Sapphire, Venus and Zephyr, exhaustion was setting in and their wing muscles were starting to ache.

"Go, Cazador," shouted Aliana. Cazador continued beating his wings, closing in on Ruby who had Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.

"Jupiter," shouted Blu. Jupiter's continued darting around the room until they landed on the broken window. At this, he shot off and made a beeline for it, Ruby closely behind with Cazador tailgating her. However, before the scarlet macaws could escape through the window, Cazador's talons reached out in a heartbeat and wrapped around Ruby's neck and Cazador screeched to a halt within two metres of the window. Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto were then thrown from her talons and captured by the crows but Jupiter had managed to make it out of the window.

"Gotchya," shouted Cazador to Ruby but the female scarlet macaw was not going to give up easily. She may be exhausted from flying around like mad but she would not give up without a fight.

"LET ME GO, you VULTURE!" she screeched and with that, she began to try and writhe in Cazador's talons. Outside, Jupiter heard his mate's screeches. At this, he stopped to a hover and turned round. When he saw Ruby begin to try and scratch Cazador through the window to the poachers' hideout, horror tore through him. Ruby continued trying to attack Cazador but as number of crow talons appeared and latched onto her wings, talons and neck and restrained them. Then Cazador, with the help of the crows, halted Ruby back to earth to an awaiting cage held by a group of cats.

"I'm afraid fighting back against me ain't an option, scarlet macaw," cackled Cazador, "I have lethal talons and beak."

And with that, he tossed Ruby into the cage. Then Io, Europa, Callisto and Ganymede were thrown in afterwards by the crows that had captured them. After this, the black cat slammed the cage door shut and padlocked it. Ruby and her four chicks then began to sort themselves out but before the cats handling the cage could move it toward the others, the sounds of flapping wings was heard.

"RUBY, KIDS!" shouted the wings' owner. At this, all eyes turned in the direction of the shouter. Jupiter then halted into a hover when he saw that Ruby and his four chicks had been caged and when Cazador's piercing eyes bore into him.

"Jupiter," shouted Saturn, "Get out of here. Don't worry about us!"

"Yes," shouted Ruby, "Don't bother trying to rescue us or you'd get caught!"

Jupiter, however, did not care and rocketed down towards Ruby and his chicks but found himself confronted by crow and falcons talons and cat paws.

"You approach us any further, scarlet macaw and you're captured," sneered Cazador as he aimed his talons at Jupiter's neck. Jupiter, at this, began to back away. Behind him, Nigel began to creep towards him like a cat stalking a mouse. Jupiter's brown eyes then darted to Ruby who wore a desperate and pleading look on her face. Zephyr, Venus, Mercury and Sapphire also looked at Jupiter with a pleading gaze each, as did Blu, Jewel, Saturn, Orquidea, Esmeralda, Uranus, Neptune, Ultramarine, Ceres, Cobalto, Lapis Lazuli and Pluto. Jupiter then hovered there, torn whether to escape or risk rescuing his group, unaware that a sickly cockatoo was approaching him, poised to pounce onto him.

"Look, just get outa here and look after Mars, Travis and his families, especially Chiquitita," shouted Zephyr, "They'll need you to take care of them."

"Get out of here, Jupiter," shouted Blu, "Or you'd end up caught."

Still Jupiter hesitated. Cometa looked on, hoping that Jupiter would retreat but he still continued to hover there, while the other falcons, cats and crows looked on scornfully and Lysandre and his underlings impatiently. Then Sapphire saw someone behind the scarlet macaw.

"Jupiter, LOOK OUT!" she cried. At this, Jupiter was about to turn round when suddenly, a grey-white blur pounced onto him, knocked him out of the air and then pinned him against the floor on his back with a talon to the neck. At this, the scarlet macaw gasped in surprised but then he found himself gazing into the sadistic brown eyes of Nigel.

"Hello, pretty bird," crooned the cockatoo sadistically. Jupiter was about to act but the evil cockatoo squeezed the talon around his neck tighter, cutting off his breathing.

"Bad move, family guy," crooned Nigel right into Jupiter's face as he struggled to breathe, "Your refusal to escape because of your beloved mate and chicks in that cage has made you an easy target."

Jupiter then glared up at the cockatoo, wincing as a whiff of his foul-smelling breath got caught in his nostrils. The others looked on in horror but Jewel looked on with pure hatred, hoping that Jupiter would fight back against her most hated cockatoo.

"Nigel," commanded Cazador, attracting Nigel's attention, "Let's cage that scarlet macaw."

Nigel smiled and then looked back at Jupiter.

"Time to re-join your little friends, Muscles," crooned the cockatoo mockingly as two cats approached with another empty cage. At this, Jupiter's eyes snapped from the cats with the cage and then back at Nigel.

"Oh, brilliant," he muttered sarcastically, "And then you're going to be free terrorising us to your heart's content."

Nigel gazed back at him. "We'll see about that, pretty bird," he crooned, "I might even injure your beautiful mate by breaking her wings and torture your chicks. It sure would make a great comedy show, hearing them screaming in agony…"

Jupiter, at this, felt hot rage and disgust burn through him like a fire tearing through a cloud of flammable gas like hydrogen or methane. At this, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto shuddered.

"Well if you're planning on doing that to my mate and chicks, you repulsive cockatoo," growled Jupiter, anger reaching boiling point, "You've GOT ANOTHER THING COMING!"

And with that, he reached up with his talons and with all his might sent them shooting into Nigel's belly like a pressurised piston. At this, Nigel gasped in pain and was sent tumbling off Jupiter, his talon around Jupiter's neck going slack and releasing it in the process. As soon as he was free, Jupiter got up and raised a talon as Nigel quickly got up and lunged at him, his brown eyes ablaze with flames and his crest fully raised in rage.

"I'm GONNA SKIN YA ALIVE FOR THAT, YOU DISGUSTING RED MACAW!" snarled the cockatoo and with that he pounced onto Jupiter before the scarlet macaw had any chance of bringing down a talon to scratch him. Screams of horror erupted from the caged birds as the cockatoo and scarlet macaw began fighting, a blur of grey-white, pale yellow, vermillion, teal and yellow, and some green from Nigel's vest. Feathers both tattered grey-white and vermillion and teal from Jupiter's wings, flew everywhere as the two tore each other's feathers out. If this went any further, blood would soon follow. The caged birds continued watching on, all with horror but smug from Jewel's face. She wanted to cheer Jupiter on but could not due to the watchful eyes of the cats. The cats, falcons and crows also looked on in shock as Nigel and Jupiter then exploded violently apart. Jupiter then came to his senses and tried to escape but Nigel lashed at him and clamped his beak onto his left talon, stopping him from escaping. Then Nigel's furious rage got the better of him and he clamped his beak ever tighter. Agonising screeches erupted from Jupiter's beak as searing pain shot though his leg from Nigel's beak and his wings beat harder, dragging Nigel, who was still attached to his leg with his beak, along the ground.

"JUPITER!" cried Ruby.

"Let him go, Nigel," bellowed Saturn. Nigel, however, was blinded by so much rage that he did not hear Saturn's cries to release Jupiter. Then blood began to trickle from Jupiter's leg and onto Nigel's face as he clamped his beak ever harder. Nigel's eyes continued blazing like brown firestorms and his crest remained up as he continued contracting his beak.

"LET HIM GO, NIGEL!" shouted Orquidea. Sher then turned to some of the cats and begged, "Please, go and stop Nigel and make him release that scarlet macaw!"

The cats, however, remained on the spot and did nothing, much to Orquidea's horror. Then Cometa began to try and intervene but Aliana stopped her with a talon on a shoulder. Cometa turned and Aliana shook her head. Jupiter continued flapping like mad to escape Nigel's brutal bone-crushing bite but could not. From her hiding place, Catina looked on in utter horror but could not help for she could blow her cover and reveal herself to the poachers, risking herself getting caught, especially by Otis and his cat gang for they were still bent on avenging her for the death of Brutus and their ruined future. Then soon, Jupiter was faced with a decision of whether to continue trying to escape with Nigel grasping his leg and risking severe damage to his leg or attacking the cockatoo to make him let go. As soon as Jupiter had decided, he shot Nigel a furious glare, raised his other talon and then brought it down across the cockatoo's face. Then it was Nigel's turn to screech in agony as Jupiter's talon claws raked across his face, inflicting another scratch over the one Jewel had inflicted on him. This made him release Jupiter's talon, which was bleeding, and Jupiter made his escape, making a beeline for the window and within moments, he was gone. Nigel was then left on the floor, his tattered wings covering his face and his new scratch which leaked blood. Swoop then attempted to fly after Jupiter but Cazador stopped him.

"Leave that scarlet macaw," he growled, "Let him suffer the agonising pain from Nigel's bite for being disobedient and let's focussing on getting these other caged birds upstairs."

Swoop obeyed and left to help his comrades carry the caged birds away. Some of the cats left to help Nigel as he held his scratched face. Then Cazador turned to Cometa and began to fire her a thousand questions like a machine gun.

"How on earth did some of these birds get free!?" he asked angrily. Cometa, at this, quickly made up a story to cover up her intentions of releasing the macaws.

"I don't know," she said, "Somehow…"

"Well make sure that it doesn't happen age especially to the Spix, the Lear's and the glaucous macaws," growled Cazador, cutting Cometa off, "They're invaluable and worth a lot of money, you know, and we don't want to lose any of them. Now come on and help us move the caged birds upstairs and let's get ready for bed!"

Cometa reluctantly obeyed and left to help her groupmates. As the crows, falcons and cats began to carry away the caged birds, Lysandre said, "Well, I guess that's enough of that. I hope this is the only slipup we have in our plans."

He then turned to his underlings and said, "Make sure that nothing like this ever happens again. These sorts of things could interfere with our plans when we get to the Amazon and it could slow us down and blow our cover."

His underlings including John, Ernesto and Gale nodded and began to help the pets carry away the caged birds while Lysandre looked on. From her hiding place, Catina continued watching the group and then gazed at the broken window.

"I hope you are alright, Jupiter, Mars, Chiquitita, Travis and Sunset," she murmured.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20- the holdups for the night**

A while after the chaos had subsided after the escaped macaws were caught and caged with only Jupiter, Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo, Rosa, Mars, Chiquitita, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre escaping, the caged birds were brought up the stairs and placed in the poachers' room where the cats and crows will keep a closer eye on them, even while they were asleep, to make sure that they did not attempt to escape again. Because the cats had sharp hearing, they would be able to hear rattling noises whenever a macaw tried to pick the padlock on their cage. As Blu and Jewel, and Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Ceres and their families (with Carla, Bia and Tiago, and Venus in the same cage as Zephyr, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil and Mercury with Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette) were carried in their cages by the cats and crows and placed in a tight cluster nearby the cats and crows' beds, Otis and Tom were treating the scratch on Nigel's face inflicted on him by Jupiter during his escape. Otis wiped away the blood as it oozed from the claw marks while Tom supplied the fresh tissue. Cazador had insisted that Nigel washed his face but Nigel, being the disgusting cockatoo he was, rejected it harshly for he hated being washed, so Cazador left the treatment to Otis and Tom instead. While Tom and Otis continued wiping away the blood weeping from the scratch on Nigel's face, the remaining bird families had huddled together. Now that they were with their families, Mercury and Venus were hugging against Sapphire and Zephyr, clearly terrified while the others looked on. Blu watched Otis and Tom continue to try and stop more blood oozing from Nigel's brand new scratch, a scornful and bitter expression creasing his face.

"Looks like scarface will be having a nice new addition to the collection of scratches on his face," he crooned spitefully. Jewel did not hear him for her attention was on Carla, Bia and Tiago as they huddled in Venus's wings with Justin and his siblings. Around the group, the falcons, crows, the other cats and their owners the poachers were preparing for bed, the cats and crows retreating to their beds.

"Make sure you look after our chicks for us until we get out, Zephyr and Venus," said Jewel.

"If we do," said Zephyr, his eyes on his still frightened mate and wing slung around her. He then bitterly eyed the cats and crows as they prepared for bed. "Those pests certainly aren't going to get away with this, that's for sure."

"Say that about sulfur-crested slime ball over there," said Blu scornfully. Jewel turned and saw Tom and Otis speak to Nigel. It seemed that the scratch inflicted by Jupiter, which was longer than the claw marks than the ones Jewel and Chiquitita had given him, and hissed with pure detestation. Nigel then began to pick at the scabs much to the disgust of Otis and Tom. It was clear that he had a habit of picking his newly healed wounds but that did not do the wounds any good. Then Blu shot Jewel a regrettable look.

"Jewel," he said.

"Yes," said Jewel.

"I'm sorry about our little fallout earlier," said Blu, "I was behaving like I was blaming you for this mess but… after thinking it through, it is clear that this was no-one's fault."

"It isn't anyone's fault, not even Veggie or Catina's," said Sapphire as she hugged Mercury, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette, "We didn't expect Nigel, the cats and their new friends to find us and catch us and it is not our fault that Nigel didn't listen to Catina and Veggie when they warned them…"

"Nigel never listens to anybody," growled Jewel bitterly. She then looked back at Blu and said, "I accept your apology, and I promise that we will work together to get out of this mess and put an end to this."

Blu nodded in agreement and then hugged Jewel lovingly.

"We've got those that have managed to escape and that calico behind us, you two," said Saturn, drawing the Spix macaw couple's attention to him, "I'm sure Travis, Sunset, Mars and Jupiter will plan on rescuing us and perhaps work alongside Catina to do just that…"

"Yeah but remember that Jupiter might have an injured foot," said Blu, "Nigel bit him rather badly."

Saturn and Orquidea looked at each other, remembering Jupiter screaming in utter agony when the savage cockatoo clamped his beak onto his left foot. That was the same sort of attack the cockatoo had inflicted Broccoli on his paw back at Susan and Lucy's house when he tried to defend Carla, Bia and Tiago but unbeknownst to the macaws, Broccoli had suffered a slight fracture from the bite and was now being taken care of at the vet's along with Eduarda who had received a scratch down the side by Nigel. Nigel's beak strength was unbelievable and he was a very strong cockatoo, capable of suffocating a bird to death in his iron-pincer like talons. Jewel knew that all too well when the cockatoo first captured her moments before she was chained to Blu, and Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto had hoped that Jupiter's foot wasn't too badly injured. Then suddenly, an oily voice as slick and as sickly as a puddle of water contaminated by thick black liquid reached the macaws' ears.

"You know what disgusts me the most, pretty birds," crooned the disgusting cockatoo, Otis and Tom flanking him like a pair of bodyguards, his brown eyes piercing Zephyr and Venus, Sapphire and Mercury, and Saturn and Orquidea and their chicks as they huddled close together, before they darted to Uranus and Esmeralda, Neptune and Ultramarine, Ceres and Cobalto, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli and their chicks as well. Saturn, at this, glared at the cockatoo, his dark aqua and yellow feathers bristling like a cat's fur whenever it got angry while Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea and Iapetus hid behind Orquidea, clearly intimidated by the cockatoo but Titan glared boldly at Nigel as he approached the group.

"What disgusts you the most you foul piece of work!?" snarled Saturn stormily. He felt an urge to lash at Nigel and slash the sadistic and scornful look off his face with a talon like how Jewel and Chiquitita did but rebuked himself for thinking that thought. Saturn may at times become aggressive and use his beak and talons to attack and draw blood but he only did this for self-defence or to defend his friends and family. Fighting and drawing blood unnecessarily was not in Saturn's nature. Orquidea also resisted the urge to attack the cockatoo. Nigel turned and sauntered towards the blue-and-gold macaws and shoved his icy gaze right into Saturn's face. Saturn winced in revulsion at the claw marks on Nigel's face and his smelly breath.

"Pretty bird couples fallin' in lurve and becomin' mates and havin' chicks, that's what. Families, in other words," crooned the cockatoo in a sickly sweet voice that was as foul as his breath. He then glared at Titan. Titan's six siblings cowered behind Orquidea as Nigel's eyes travelled their way. Saturn, at this, spread his wings protectively across Titan in case Nigel decided to harm him, the others looking on.

"What's wrong with us having families!?" snapped the male blue-and-gold macaw bitterly. Nigel then shot Blu and Jewel a bitter glare and then darted his eyes back to Saturn.

"I cannot stand the thought of my most detested birds on the planet living happy lives," said the cockatoo in disgust, "Certainly not finding mates and having chicks, but in any way shape or form, ALL pretty birds deserve to suffer, but I oughta tell you something, green-head, I'm glad I don't have a family."

"Well I'm glad to hear that, you brute," snarled Titan, ducking under Saturn's wing and standing up in front of it, directly in front of Nigel, "You wouldn't make a very good mate to any female cockatoo, or a father to any cockatoo chick."

"That's right," squeaked Miranda from Uranus and Esmeralda's cage in agreement.

"Especially chicks," growled Indigo from Neptune's cage, "What brood of chicks would want YOU for a father?"

Nigel, at this, shot Miranda and then Indigo a glare and then glared back at Titan. Titan just stood there, steadfast; despite the enormous cockatoo towering menacingly over him but Saturn was fiercely aware of Nigel's proximity to his son. If Nigel even showed the slightest signs of harming Titan, Saturn would not hesitate to change his mind and claw the cockatoo's face, which would add a fourth set of claw marks to the three he already had on his face.

"Let me tell you a little something before I took to smuggling pretty birds like you," growled Nigel, taking a step back from Saturn's cage so that all the macaws could see him, "When I was the famous film star cockatoo, Cocks 'Nigel' Cockatoo, I did once have a brood of chicks with a female cockatoo of my species."

"You once had a MATE AND CHICKS!?" shouted Zephyr incredulously but Nigel ignored the male green-eyed Spix macaw. Zephyr, Sapphire, Ruby, Orquidea, Esmeralda, Ultramarine, Lapis Lazuli and Ceres then covered their chicks' ears to prevent them from hearing Nigel's rather adult subject.

"It was not a family at all," crooned Nigel shamelessly, "We just happened to conceive a brood of chicks and when that female cockatoo told me that she was expecting that brood, I wanted nothing to do with it as my career was far more important."

"What!?" snapped Saturn incredulously.

"Having a family is a BIG responsibility," said Uranus, "If you didn't want to have a brood of chicks with that female cockatoo in the first place, you shouldn't have had chicks with her."

"How could you just abandon that female cockatoo to raising that brood of chicks by herself and put your career first and foremost when she would have needed your help to carry the burden of raising those chicks, even if it were just one?" asked Neptune disgustedly. Nigel then glared at the macaws and growled, "I don't suppose any of you planned on having YOUR chicks in the first place, did you?"

Tom and Otis looked at each other and shrugged while the macaws glared back at Nigel in shock that he would ask such a question.

"We all DID PLAN to have chicks," shouted Ceres bitterly, "And we made sure that we were all prepared for it."

"We did not just take the plunge without planning things first," put in Lapis Lazuli. Pluto nodded in agreement.

Zephyr looked on and said nothing. Having chicks had been one of Venus's greatest desires but he daren't tell Nigel about that. Sapphire also kept her beak shut about her and Mercury having their three daughters Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette. Based on what Nigel had put Mercury and Venus though as chicks when he helped to smuggle them out of Brazil, Zephyr and Sapphire both had thoughts on what Nigel might be planning to do to Mercury and Venus, and to Blu and Jewel but they were ideas they both didn't like, but nothing could prepare them for what Nigel was about to boldly say a few seconds from now.

"Let's move on from the subject of having chicks, shall we," said Nigel, his voice tone changing from oily to acidic, "Ever since that pretty parakeet named Petricious came along and kicked me off the set and sending my beloved career world crashing and burning, I have since come to loathe exotic birds like you, especially when they are happy and enjoying life. So, I took to catching and smuggling birds so that I could torture and abuse them and make their lives a living nightmare, hence why I am working for these guys."

He then shot Venus and Mercury a bitter look and added, "And whenever exotic birds, especially Spix macaws, now my most detested macaw species on the planet, have a family and live happily, I always do anything to tear it apart, even if it means ripping chicks away from parents and slaughtering their parents to make them orphans. Chicks are far more easily devastated than adults, which is why I killed those two pretty birds' (referring to Mercury and Venus) mothers and fathers."

At this, Mercury and Venus looked up, terror and heartbreak entering their eyes, but Nigel began to go the extra mile.

"I really did enjoy throwin' the father of that pigtailed Spix macaw against that tree and watching him die instantly as his neck broke when he struck the tree," continued the evil cockatoo in his most maniacal voice, "And also killin' her mother, and then the parents of that Lear's macaw with the grey eyes."

And with that, he burst out laughing, sending utter anguish flashing through Mercury and Venus and tearing their hearts in two like a knife cleaving straight through a big block of butter. Sapphire and Zephyr finally snapped when their respective mates finally let loose anguished cries and began to sob much to Nigel's enjoyment.

"This has gone FAR ENOUGH, you sickening VULTURE!" snarled Zephyr and with that, he began to throw himself against the cage door in an attempt to break out of the cage and attack Nigel. Sapphire was also hissing like a cat. Zephyr continued bashing against the cage door when suddenly; cat paws appeared and restrained him.

"There's no point in trying to escape, pretty bird," crooned Nigel sickeningly, "You're padlocked in."

He then turned to Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Ceres and said, "As for you four and your red macaw friends, I also enjoyed slaughtering your parents when we took you out of your birthplaces as well."

Disgust tore through the four macaws while their mates Orquidea, Esmeralda, Ultramarine and Cobalto looked on bitterly, their feathers puffed out. Then Cobalto raised a talon and said threateningly, "Don't make me claw that scornful look off your face, cockatoo!"

Nigel ignored the male blue-throated macaw and turned to Pluto.

"I'm not sure about you as I wasn't there," crooned Nigel evilly, "But I sure hope your family has been killed as well…"

Pluto hissed bitterly and in disgust as Nigel then burst out laughing before sauntering over to the upset Mercury and Venus, the others including Blu and Jewel looking on.

"And I certainly do look forward to putting you two through the same trauma you both had suffered as chicks," crooned Nigel evilly, obviously enjoying the distress he was causing Mercury and Venus, "But that, I'm afraid is still a surprise…"

He then chuckled wickedly which was met by an extremely acidic glare from Sapphire and Zephyr. The two macaws had never had such acidic glares like these in their lives but if they were actually acids, they would be concentrated sulfuric acid. Jewel's glare, however, had an even lower pH than Zephyr and Sapphire's glares. Venus and Mercury continued crying and shaking in anguish and fear while Phoebe, Jasmine, Annette, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil looked on silently, too young to understand the atmosphere much. However, under the silence, they shivered and dreaded what Nigel had in store for them. As for Carla, Bia and Tiago, they were hiding behind Zephyr, not wanting to be pierced by one of the digesting cockatoo's wicked glares. Then Jewel took the opportunity to poke fun at her nemesis.

"You know something, Nigel," she crooned, her beak creased into a scornful, icy grin as cold as a fridge, "You look fantastic with that new scratch on your face."

"It sure was hilarious seeing you get badly scratched by Jupiter when you bit him," put in Blu equally scornfully.

Saturn shot Blu and Jewel a glare, repulsed by their scornful attitude. He clearly did not like these two Spix macaws' mocking Nigel and laughing at his pain. Then Jewel's attitude morphed from ugly scorn to even uglier hatred as acidic as vitriol.

"But when we get out of this wretched pile of trash," she snarled, her feathers puffed out and teal eyes a blaze with acidic fire, "I'm gonna TEAR MY CLAWS THROUGH YOUR RAGGED FEATHERS!"

"I hope she's not going to enter another episode of spewing acidic words at the cockatoo this time," murmured Uranus warily. Saturn also looked on; ready to take action in yelling at Jewel in case she decided to spray abuse all over Nigel like a spitting cobra. Nigel shot Blu and Jewel a glare and sauntered toward them. Otis warily looked on.

"Careful, Nigel," he said, "Those two have a hair-trigger temper."

Tom also looked on and actually took a four-legged step back at the sight of the acidity in the gaze of Blu and Jewel, shivering, but Nigel didn't care. He loved taunting his top two nemeses and making them angry, but still, he was playing with fire.

"As for you two," growled Nigel, bitter hatred entering his eyes and his feathers, including those on his head, rising, "I can't wait to make you both feel the utter loss I felt over my ability to fly. You both have reduced me to nothing more than a humiliating mess after that plane incident…"

He then eyed Blu bitterly. Blu, in response, let loose a sneering laugh, raised a wing tip to his left eye to pull down his lower eyelid and stuck his tongue out to make a face at the cockatoo while Jewel let loose a scornful laugh.

"Well, I'm glad to hear it, you disgusting cockatoo," she crooned mockingly, "Maybe you should join a poultry farm and live with the chickens!"

She then nastily laughed as that hit a nerve in Nigel, making him flinch harshly. Blu also joined in the laughter at seeing Nigel's shocked and offended face. The other adult macaws reacted.

"Oh, no, here we go," cried Ruby as Nigel then poised to attack Blu and Jewel. But then expectantly, he stopped and his icy brown gaze shot her way. Then Nigel began to walk towards her, making Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto cower behind their mother. Then Nigel stood before Ruby and gazed at her face. Ruby spread her wings protectively across her four chicks.

"I remember you, pretty bird," Nigel bitterly crooned, "I remember you… participating as a secondary character, in one of my films…"

"I don't wanna talk about it, former film-star boy," snapped Ruby coolly, "But for your information, I HATED that role, not loved it like you did."

Nigel, at this, did not react. He just turned his back on the female scarlet macaw and sauntered off back toward Tom and Otis. He then turned around and said, "I wish you all sweet nightmares and we'll see you lot in the morning. But you'd better not get up to mischief or you WILL be facing the consequences."

At this, Neptune raised one of his large talons threateningly. "You even think about using that nutcracker beak of yours and you'll be on the receiving end of this talon of mine," he growled. Nigel ignored the hyacinth macaw and turned his back on the group to head off to one of the perches. The other animals and the poachers had all settled down and ready to go to sleep by now. John then went over the caged birds one last time when he noticed that one of the familes of macaws was missing.

"Lysandre, sir," he said.

"Yes, John," said Lysandre as he climbed into his bed.

"I've just realised that the family of green-winged macaws is missing," said John, gazing down at the macaws who glared back at him fiercely. "Might've they escaped?"

"Look, let's not worry about that, John," said Lysandre, "Let's just get to bed and prepare for tomorrow. We have a lot of preparations to make for we'll be off to the Amazon the next day."

"Yeah, and besides that," Said Ernesto, "Green-winged macaws are small fry compared to the rare Spix, Lear's and glaucous macaws in terms of price. Furthermore, we'll be catching more green-winged and scarlet macaws on the Sanctuary de Amazon."

"Correct, Ernesto," said Lysandre, "Now John, you go to bed and get some sleep."

John nodded and left the birds. Then after a while, everything and everyone in the room was plunged into darkness, including the caged birds into darkness. Then snores filled the air as the poachers, cats, falcons and crows, and Nigel drifted off to sleep. Cometa also drifted off, too tired to shoot the macaws a sympathetic glare. They were obviously tired from the ordeal of retrieving the escaped macaws earlier. The caged birds looked on as their capturers went to sleep.

"Looks like we're gonna have to settle onto these hard surfaces of these lousy cages," muttered Lapis Lazuli as she prepared to put Charon, Quincy, Blueberry and Flor to sleep. The other macaws did the same with their chicks while Blu and Jewel also settled down. Pluto then gazed at a window which had unbroken glass panes and thought of Jupiter, Mars, Chiquitita, Travis and Sunset and the chicks that had escaped.

"Oh, you lot," he moaned, "I hope you lot are okay, especially you, Jupiter."

Downstairs, Catina had chosen a place to sleep. She will try and formulate Rescue Plan B tomorrow.

 **Meanwhile**

Mars carried Chiquitita through an open window of Tulio's Aviary and into the medical room where several guards and doctors were at work on their nightshift jobs. Phobos, Deimos, Alexandre, Sunset, Travis, Eustace, Milo and Rosa followed. The artificial light from the main bulb of the medical room poured into the birds' faces, but despite this, Mars squinted aroundthe room looking for one of the doctors. As soon as his eyes landed on one treating a bird with a broken wing, he carried his small mate to him. It had taken Mars a lot of convincing of Chiquitita to seek medical treatment for her worsening wound on her stomach. On the way to here, the two had argued, Chiquitita telling Mars that she was fine and didn't need treatment and Mars insisting on the opposite. After some time, and backup from Travis and Sunset, Chiquitita relented. She was a stubborn macaw at times, which sometimes led her to petty arguments. As soon as Mars was near the bird doctor, he gently placed Chiquitita onto her side for the bird doctor to see her belly scratch. The moment the bird doctor's eyes had landed on Chiquitita and her injury, he had immediately called for one of the nurses over. The nurse had responded to his call and had come over to examine Chiquitita's belly. After the nurse carried Chiquitita away, Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo, Rosa, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre touched down beside him.

"Looks like we're just in time, Mars," said Travis, a wing on Mars's back as the latter watched the nurse carry his mate away, "We could see that her scratch was becoming infected."

"We've successfully nipped the potential infection in the bud," said Mars, "Glad we saw the initial signs of her scratch becoming infected really early."

"What's nipping something in the bud mean?" asked Phobos.

"It means to stop something in its early stages before it becomes serious," said Sunset, "Like, for example, pulling up a weed in its germinating stage before it grows into a large plant and threatening the other garden plants."

"Or in this case, your mother's injury's infection becoming worse," said Mars. Phobos looked up at him with a surprised gaze.

"Will Mom be okay, Dad?" asked Deimos.

"Yes, she will," said Mars, "And I think she'll recover quickly as well. All she has is just a half-healed scratch that was just starting to become infected."

"You know, it took us a lot of convincing to get Chiquitita to agree that she needed treatment," said Travis, "She can be so stubborn at times."

"One of the things I have to handle at times," muttered Mars with a sigh. He sometimes found Chiquitita's stubbornness hard to handle but he was glad that she had finally agreed to get her scratch looked at and treated even if the scratch was not serious. Eustace, Alexandre, Milo and Rosa then began to shudder.

"Oh, that cockatoo was _horrible_ ," murmured Eustace, "I hope we never meet him again."

"We're gonna have nightmares for weeks," murmured Rosa.

"Especially of him eating those disgusting mouse carcases like a vulture," groaned Milo. He felt his stomach churn as those memories of Nigel eating mice and picking on the macaws and cockatoos with it came to mind.

"I actually thought I was gonna be sick," said Alexandre. Mars also flinched as he felt his stomach churn too.

"To be honest with you," he said, "I was going to refuse that friendly falcon's offer of food due to a loss of appetite because of that cockatoo, but I knew I had to eat so I set to eating."

"Parrots may sometimes eat meat products," said Travis, "But mice are something I have never known a parrot or cockatoo eat."

"That Nigel guy certainly is abnormal, I can tell you," said Sunset, "Foul, to say the least."

"The others are going to be facing abuse from that foul piece of work, I can tell you," said Mars. Then thoughts of Venus, Mercury and Jupiter and their families came to mind. "I hope the others whom Catina and that falcon managed to free had managed to escape too. If so they'll be looking for a place to spend the night."

"We're going to go after those poachers again in the morning," said Travis, "We don't want those criminals infiltrating the Sanctuary de Amazon and poaching macaws from that protected nature reserve."

"Can't we convict these humans, Dad?" asked Eustace. Travis was about to reply when the sound of frantic wing flapping reached their ears. At this, the green-winged macaw, sulfur-crested cockatoo, Major Mitchell's cockatoo and the six chicks, three green-winged and the other three hybrids of their parents, turned and saw a large muscular male scarlet macaw with orange-red feathers explode through the window and then crash-land onto the table.

"Jupiter," cried Mars, Travis and Sunset at the same time and with that, they all ran over to inspect the scarlet macaw, the six chicks following. When they gathered around their unofficial group leader, Mars, Travis and Sunset saw that Jupiter was breathing heavily, obviously out of breath from flying so fast. Jupiter, at this, gazed at each of the three birds.

"Hi… you three…" he said between breaths but then his face twisted and he hissed through a gritted beak in pain.

"Jupiter, what is it?" Travis asked. Then Sunset's eyes saw a few tiny droplets of red dotting the table. At this, she examined the droplets; an awful thought washing over her like a shadow as she saw how these droplets formed almost a straight line from Jupiter and the edge of the table. Jupiter had flown in this direction before crashing onto the table top. Sunset's eyes then travelled from the droplets to Jupiter's left foot which was clasped in his wings. Jupiter had his eyes screwed shut and his beak gritted in agony. He had his wings wrapped around his left foot.

"Jupiter, are you alright?" asked Mars but Jupiter was in too much pain to answer. Sunset then tried to pry the teal and red flight feathers away from the left foot, dread bubbling within her. When Jupiter's wings remained tight around his left foot, Sunset turned to him.

"Jupiter, you need to release your foot so that I could look at it," said the Major Mitchell's cockatoo. At this, Jupiter reluctantly did so and the teal-tinted turquoise bandage of feathers was unwrapped from the foot, exposing what lie underneath. Sunset then examined the skin on Jupiter's left lower leg but when she was what was on it, a sharp gasp entered her beak.

"Sunset," asked Mars.

"What is it?" asked Travis. Phobos, Deimos, Alexandre, Eustace, Milo and Rosa looked on silently as Sunset then showed the two males Jupiter's injured foot. At this, the baby blue eyes of Travis and orange eyes of Mars expanded with horror and their beaks dropped open. There were two pairs of bright pink-red lines running back and forth on Jupiter's ankle, the area where Nigel's beak had clamped onto it, two on top and two underneath. All four lines were red and angry and weeping a bit of blood, as well as firing pain down Jupiter's leg. Jupiter clearly was in agony, his face twisted with his eyes tight shut and beak clenched. Travis then began to fire him several questions.

"How did you end up with this injury?" he asked, "And have the other freed birds escaped?"

Jupiter slowly turned to him and managed to produce some words despite the agonising pain flaring from his wounded left leg as though acid had been poured onto it.

"No," he hissed, "And Ruby and… my chicks have been caught. I tried rescuing them but Nigel attacked me and bit my left leg. AAAHH!"

He then grasped his extremely painful left leg again and breathed in agony. It was then that a bird doctor came by. When she saw that Jupiter had an injured leg, she gasped and ran over to him. Travis, Sunset and Mars backed away and joined the six chicks as the doctor then began examining Jupiter's leg. As the three watched the doctor examine Jupiter's wounded leg, Mars whispered, "This is the same sort of attack Broccoli received while we were away."

"That Nigel is a brute, honestly," muttered Mars bitterly, "I hope Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto are alright."

"They're going to have to spend the night at that place I'm afraid," said Travis sadly, "It's too late and too dark and I don't want to risk us getting caught."

"We'll have to go after them tomorrow morning," said Sunset. Then the bird doctor picked up Jupiter as gently as she would handle a fragile glass object and carried him away. As soon as Jupiter was out of sight, Travis turned to the others and said, "Right, let's look for a place to spend the night."

"But what about Aunt Chiquitita and Uncle Jupiter?" asked Phobos as Deimos let a yawn escape from his beak. The other chicks also yawned.

"They'll be fine, son," said Mars, "Let's just look for someplace to sleep."

And with that the cockatoo and green-winged macaw families left. Alexandre stole one last glance from behind and then followed his family and the cockatoos. The nine, along with Chiquitita and Jupiter once they were well enough to join them tomorrow morning, will return to the poachers' hideout and try and rescue their friends with Catina.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21- the next day**

The sun peered above the eastern horizon to mark the beginning or sunrise of the next day's morning in Rio. In Tulio's Aviary, Mars, Phobos, Deimos, Alexandre, Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa awoke from their uneasy sleep. Last night they had been restless, their minds churning like the white water of a turbulently flowing river with the worries about their friends still at the poachers' hideout and the possible abuse they were receiving from Nigel, especially Venus and Mercury, Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago. The nine had spent the night in the nearby vegetation surrounding Tulio's Aviary for it had been too risky to find a tree to settle in. As the group woke up, stretched their wings and yawned, Mars wearily gazed up at Tulio's Aviary with droopy eyes. After rubbing his eyes to get rid of any crusty gunk that had built up in his eyes during the sleep Mars had managed to obtain, the green-winged macaw turned to the others.

"I'm going to fly back into Tulio's Aviary to check on Chiquitita and Jupiter while one of you look for some fruit for our breakfast," he told Travis and Sunset as they also rubbed their eyes.

"Okay, go ahead," said Travis, "While I do the foraging."

He then nodded to Sunset who nodded back to say that she was fine looking after the six chicks while he and Mars were absent. Then with three flaps, Mars and Travis were gone, the former in the direction of Tulio's Aviary and the latter toward the forest. Back in Tulio's Aviary, the bird casualties that slept in a special recovery room were waking up and filling the air with their squawks. This part of Tulio's Aviary was designed for birds recovering from more serious injuries like broken wings. Along the walls were boxes with silvery grate-like coverings for doors. A food bowl and soft bedding were placed inside the floor of each cage and a drinking tube was attached to each of the doors. The bird doctors in charge of this room were beginning their job. These doctors were a different group of people from those last night for they were dayshift workers. As the doctors changed into their gowns, from one of the cages, a vermillion coloured form with teal and yellow wings and a teal patched tail looked up with sleepy eyes. Jupiter had been placed into one of these cages last night by one of the nightshift doctors. As Jupiter woke up and watched the first two dayshift doctors enter the room to begin their first task: checking the drinking tubes and food bowls to see if they wanted washing and refilling, Jupiter felt a strange sensation on his left talon. At this, he looked down his left leg and saw that its ankle and the top of the foot was covered in soft, white wrapping known as bandages. Jupiter winced, remembering what Nigel had done to that foot last night during his escape. Then the scarlet macaw rolled onto his stomach and tried to stand up, but he could only do so on his other, unharmed foot. The wounded one sent pain streaking up his leg every time Jupiter put pressure on it. Though it was not as painful as it was last night it still too painful for Jupiter to stand on it. As Jupiter then hopped on his other unwounded foot, the range of view through the holes in the grated metal door in front of him became clouded by an opaque pale blue screen. Then a clicking noise was heard as the door to Jupiter's case was unlocked. Jupiter, at this, looked around and saw the door open and then the face of the bird doctor as she smiled.

"Hey, there, scarlet macaw," she said, "Time to have a look at your leg."

Jupiter, at this, shot a glance down at his bandaged foot as a pair of hands slowly and gently crept towards him to scoop him out of the cage. As the hands then picked him up, Jupiter went slack. Being a formerly domesticated macaw who had spent most of his life around humans, he was used to them and because he knew that these were bird doctors who cared for birds and he knew them personally as well, he trusted them greatly and thus was calm around them. Other birds, especially those that had had a bad experience with humans or were wild required more careful and gentle handling in addition to patience. Jupiter was then taken out of his cage and carried to the medical room. It was then that another red macaw, similar to a scarlet macaw but had green replacing the area on the wings which were yellow in the scarlet species, flapped in through the window. Mars had entered the building through the open window. As soon as he was in the living room, he began to examine the room in which the dayshift doctors' jobs were starting up until his eyes landed on the familiar red-orange bundle in a bird doctor's arms. At this, Mars fluttered after the bird doctor. Jupiter was then carried toward a table top and placed there. After this, the bird doctor left to look for some fresh bandages. As the doctor left, a red, green and blue form appeared, much to Jupiter's joy and surprise.

"Mars," he said, "Good to see you."

"Have you had a nice sleep?" asked Mars.

"It had been uneasy," said Jupiter with a sigh, "My mind was flooded with the thoughts about our friends who are still trapped in that poacher's place, including Ruby and my four chicks. Not to mention the pain from my foot," Jupiter then shuddered, "But I had an _awful_ dream last night."

"Really?" asked Mars, "What was it about?"

"It was too disturbing but it was about my mate and chicks," said Jupiter, "And of course Nigel. To put it short, Nigel was standing over the corpses of Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, laughing maniacally, and that's when I woke up."

Jupiter then felt his stomach churn at the memories of that nightmare. Mars looked on in surprise. This was similar to the nightmare Venus had had about Zephyr, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil and them being held in a cage and being tormented by Nigel. Mars sighed as thoughts about the others still held in the poachers' place came to mind when a familiar female voice caught his attention.

"Mars," said the voice's owner. At this, Mars looked up and saw a small green-winged macaw with a bandage around her midsection fly in toward Mars. Mars opened his wings and the two spun in a hug. Chiquitita had been allowed to fly from her cage after spending the night last night. She looked bright with gladness at seeing her mate but that soon fell when she saw Jupiter and his bandaged foot.

"Oh, no, what happened to your leg, Jupiter?" asked Chiquitita as she broke the embrace with Mars.

"Nigel bit hard on my left leg when I tried to escape," said Jupiter, gazing at his bandaged foot, "It left a very painful wound. It had been cleaned and bandaged last night but the bird doctor has just left to fetch some clean bandage material to replace this old one."

"Did any of the others manage to escape?" asked Chiquitita.

"No," said Jupiter with a shake of his head, "Venus, Mercury and their families and my mate and four chicks had been captured by the falcons and crows and re-caged. I'm the only one that had got away during the chaos."

"Travis was telling me how he, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa had managed to escape during that," said Chiquitita, "Before Mars mentioned that I should get this scratch looked at."

She gazed down at her bandaged midsection and sighed.

"At least you've listened," said Mars firmly, "Had you refused treatment, your scratch would have ended up getting worse."

"At least you've got that treated in time," said Jupiter. He then heard footsteps and looked up and saw the bird doctor return with a roll of fresh bandage in her hands covered by clean plastic gloves. "That bird doctor wants to see me. So if you don't mind, I'd like to be left alone."

At this, Mars and Chiquitita backed away and allowed the bird doctor to see to replacing Jupiter's foot.

"I think Jupiter's bite wound would have likely become infected as well had he not got that treated," said Chiquitita in a low voice. Mars shot her a confused glare but Chiquitita's was dark.

"With Nigel stuffing his beak on disgusting things," she explained, "The germs he picks up would have got into Jupiter's wound."

"Nigel certainly is one filthy cockatoo;" muttered Mars, "To hear that he doesn't wash and never has washed at all is kind of disturbing."

Chiquitita nodded in agreement.

"So how is your belly scratch?" asked Mars. Chiquitita ran a wing on the bandage on her stomach.

"It's fine, not too serious," she said, "The bird doctors last night cleaned out the wound and bandaged it. Thankfully it was not too bad."

"It was beginning to show signs of infection," said Mars, "Glad we nipped it in the bud before it got any worse."

Chiquitita let loose a sigh at having her pride slightly dented but she eventually realised that sometimes she did not know best and that you had to take the advice of others who were wiser. But then her face flashed to a confused look.

"Nipped it in the bud?" she asked.

"It's a phrase meaning to stop a threat in its earliest stages based on its initial signs," explained Mars. "What I meant was we spotted the early signs of your scratch becoming infected and stopped it before it got any worse."

"Yes, thanks," said Chiquitita slightly feistily. Then the sounds of wing flaps reached the ears of the group. At this, the green-winged macaw couple turned and saw a white cockatoo fly in through the window with some fruit in his talons.

"Here you go, Mars, a nice mango and some berries," said Travis as he touched down and set the fruit down before Mars, "Sunset and the six chicks are eating a pineapple, papaya and a few nuts."

"Thanks, Travis," said Mars as he picked up the Mango and began to dig his beak into its flesh to take the first bite. Then Travis's eyes found Chiquitita.

"Chiquitita," cried Travis jubilantly, "Brilliant, you're alright. I'm glad your scratch has been bandaged up."

"We've just seen Jupiter," said Mars with a mouthful of mango, his words grotesquely distorted by the presence of food in his mouth.

"Don't talk with your mouthful," scolded Travis, "It's not nice. Swallow whatever you've got in your mouth first and then speak."

Mars obeyed and continued eating the mango piece until he swallowed it, Chiquitita rolling her eyes in amusement. Then Mars spoke after he had swallowed the mango piece.

"We've just seen Jupiter," said Mars, "He's currently having the bandage around his leg replaced with a fresh one and should be brought back shortly."

"Oh, good," said Travis, "At least he's alright."

"Mars told me that Nigel but his lower leg," said Chiquitita. Travis shot her a dark look.

"That Nigel is a savage brute, honestly," he said, "That was the same attack he had inflicted on Broccoli's paw according to Veggie and Broccoli himself."

"I hope he's not going to become like Brutus," murmured Chiquitita nervously, "Because if he's starting to become violent whenever he loses his temper…"

"Someone else could get hurt," murmured Mars, his orange eyes swollen with worry, even more so as his friends came to mind. "But the question is who's next, and when?"

Mars then resumed eating his mango and berries Travis had brought to him. Chiquitita put her wings up when Travis gave her the 'Do you like some fruit' question.

"I've already had breakfast, thanks," she said, "One of the bird doctors kindly fed me some peach and mango pieces."

Just then footsteps sounded on the floor, drawing the two green-winged macaws and sulfur-crested cockatoo's attention to the source of the sound, the bird doctor, approaching the table. She carried the familiar vermillion bundle in her arms and as soon as she was close to the table, she placed that bundle down onto the table top.

"There you go," said the bird doctor to the bird which was Jupiter, "Your bandage has been freshly replaced and we'll replace it again in a few hours."

Jupiter chirped happily in thanks as the bird doctor then fed him a guava. Jupiter immediately took the guava and began to eat it. Then the bird doctor left to see to another bird casualty. Mars, Chiquitita and Travis walked over to him. However, the three and the scarlet macaw were unaware that they were being watched. From the shadows behind a cabinet, a pair of vivid teal eyes glowed and gazed in Travis's direction. The owner of the pair of eyes was shaped like a small amphibian and above each of her green eyes was a flap of skin resembling eyelashes. The vivid teal eyes glowed with affectionate admiration as they watched Travis then stand near Jupiter and begin to speak to him.

"Oooh, Nigel," crooned the frog in the shadows in a dreamy whisper, "You're back. I'm so glad you've returned, and it seemed that you have gotten younger and have come off your need to wear your vest to conceal the patchiness on your torso now..."

Just then, a pale pink cockatoo with a striking red and yellow banded crest flew in through the window with three green-winged macaw chicks and three hybrid cockatoo chicks, carrying their breakfast. As soon as they saw Jupiter and Chiquitita, Sunset, Phobos, Deimos, Alexandre, Eustace, Milo and Rosa made a beeline towards the two and touched down before them.

"Jupiter, Chiquitita," said Sunset with a smile as the six chicks crowded around Jupiter and Chiquitita and hugged them, the latter two returning the hug. Travis and Mars exchanged amused glances. Then after hugging the six chicks, Jupiter turned to the other three adults, a firm look on his face.

"So, Jupiter, now that it is morning, what next?" asked Sunset. Jupiter was about to reply when suddenly, a fuchsia pink and maroon blur shot in out of nowhere and landed right onto Travis's head! Travis yelped in shock while the others flinched, Chiquitita and Sunset releasing short shrieks as then the something began snuggling against Travis's face, smothering him with frenzied kisses.

"Oh, Nigey-Wigey," crooned the frog as she smooched Travis's cheeks and beak, much to his disgusted shock and revulsion, "I'm so glad you came back! When I found you missing, I've been so extremely heartbroken and now I'm whole again!"

And with that, the frog began to go mad and smother Travis's entire face with even more kisses, so fast that it looked as though she had had a dozen heads. The others looked on in shock, Mars and Chiquitita stifling the urge to giggle, Jupiter in flabbergast and Sunset in utter disbelief. Phobos, Deimos, Alexandre, Eustace, Milo and Rosa also stood there, especially the latter three, dumbfounded looks plastering their faces as they watched Travis, the father of the latter three, then sway around with his white wings clasped onto the frenzied frog's body in an attempt to pry her off his face but the frog continued showering Travis with her frenzied kisses, thinking him to be someone else. Then Sunset was about to take action when she saw what species of frog the creature was.

"Is that little frog poisonous?" she asked.

"I don't know, but based on… how it is smothering Travis with its kisses," muttered Mars trying to resist the urge not to laugh. It was a very funny sight, watching poor Travis struggle to pry the frog from his face as she continued smearing his faces with so many kisses in rapid succession, grunting and wincing in disgust at the slops he was receiving, but it was not at all funny to Sunset.

"I believe it could be the same frog that had fallen in love with Nigel, the one Blu told us about," said Mars. Then Sunset, having had enough of seeing the frog pelt Travis's face with more kisses and smooches, finally strode into action, not caring whether the frog was poisonous or not. A look of disgust on her face on the frog smooching her mate's face and her crest raised, the Major Mitchell's cockatoo marched over to Travis as he fell down onto his back still trying to pry the kissing frog from his face, hooked her claws onto the frog and yanked her away from Travis's face. Travis then let loose a sigh of relief but winced in revulsion as his face felt wet. Rubbing a wing on his cheek, Travis pulled it away to examine the wetness's source. It was only pink-coloured water but it felt gross. Repulsed, Travis got up and turned to see Sunset grasping the female frog as she writhed in her talon. The frog's teal eyes were ablaze with lustful affection.

"Lemme go," she yelled, writhing in Sunset's talon, "I wanna shower Nigey-Wigey with my luuuuuurrrrrve…"

Chiquitita and Jupiter wrinkled their beaks in disgust while Mars shot the six chicks a glare as they began laughing. Phobos, Deimos, Alexandre, Milo, Rosa and Eustace immediately plugged their mouths to stop anymore laughs escaping them when they saw the look on Mars's face. Then Sunset shoved her face into the frog's eyes, a look of rage flaring in her pink eyes and her crest fully raised, exposing the red and yellow banding on the feathers. While this made Sunset look pretty, it also made her look terrifying when she was angry.

"Now you listen here, you pesky little FROG!" bellowed Sunset furiously, making the frog snap out of her affection-crazed state and gaze at her. "Let me get something into your head before things get out of control."

The frog gazed into Sunset's pink eyes and flinched in fright at the fires in them.

"That cockatoo is NOT Nigel of one," barked Sunset, "And two, he is my mate and I do NOT, and will NOT TOLERATE, anyone showering him with immense affection LIKE THAT! UNDERSTAND!?"

At this, the frog, as these words sent shockwaves down her body as they flew from Sunset's beak, shuddered in immense fright.

"I-I-I'm sorry, miss," she begged timidly, "I didn't know…"

Sunset, at this, threw the frog onto the table top and began to drive her away. The frog, driven by panic, then hopped like mad to avoid being attacked by the Major Mitchel's cockatoo and fled for the shadows of the cabinet corner like a mouse fleeing a cat. As soon as the frog was out of sight, Sunset calmed down.

"Well, that's enough of THAT little episode," she growled, "The last thing I want is any silly animal showering MY mate with affection like THAT!"

"It must have mistaken him for Nigel," said Mars. Travis looked on, a bewildered look on his face. He did not know what to say about this at all, but he felt a roll of disgust tear through him like fire at Mars's mentioning of the frog's mistaking him for the disgusting cockatoo. Then after the chaos caused by the distraction had subsided which had been a wonder that none of the other birds or humans had heard the commotion when the frog smothered Travis with her kisses thinking he was Nigel, all eyes turned to Jupiter as he prepared to say what he was about to say before the frog leaped out at Travis.

"So what next Jupiter?" asked Sunset. Jupiter was about to answer when another distraction caught his attention. This time, however, it was the sound of familiar human voices. At this, Jupiter's gaze snapped from Sunset and Travis and the grteen-winged macaw family to the entrance of the medical room. Mars, Chiquitita, Travis and Sunset's gazes followed and landed on the door.

"Tulio, Linda, Susan and Lucy are coming," said Travis, "Let's hide, quickly! I don't want our two former owners seeing us here."

And with that, the eleven birds shot glances this way and that and flapped off for the recovery room. Jupiter flew away first, followed by Chiquitita, Mars, Phobos, Deimos, Alexandre and Sunset, Travis, Eustace, Milo and Rosa, moments before Tulio's group poured into the main medical room. Then the eleven birds began to listen to the conversation being carried out by Susan and Lucy with Tulio and Linda.

"So, how are Broccoli and Eduarda, you two?" asked Tulio as he walked towards the changing rooms.

"Oh, Eduarda's fine but Broccoli has been diagnosed with a fracture on his left paw," said Lucy. Shock and horror tore through the eleven birds, especially Jupiter, and they all flinched from the static electricity of the shock.

"It is only a small fracture, which we're glad for," said Susan, "And the vet told us that he had been bitten by a parrot after examining the bite marks on his paw."

"It is obvious that none of the other cats and dogs had been fighting him, Tulio," said Lucy, "Neither had they been the ones to turn the kitchen and living room of our house into a bombsite lookalike as we initially thought. After further examination of our overturned rooms and remembering that our pets would never cause such destruction as what we have examined at our home, we deduced that we may have had intruders in our house but we don't know what kinds…"

At this, smugness bubbled within the eleven birds.

"Looks like Susan and Lucy have finally realised that it weren't Dash, Veggie and the others' fault for the mess they had found in their house," said Travis.

"Yeah but then they'll most likely suspect us," said Sunset, "We must keep out of their sight until this mess is sorted out."

"Look, there's that spy," whispered Mars, a blue feather from a wing pointing to one of the men. At this, Jupiter, Sunset, Travis and Chiquitita followed the direction of the point until their eyes landed on the slim man with green eyes and dark brown hair. Phobos, Deimos, Alexandre, Eustace, Milo and Rosa also saw the man named Ernesto.

"He looks so real," said Chiquitita, "And he's behaving like those other real ornithologists."

"Yeah but don't be fooled," said Jupiter, "We've seen that guy among that crowd of poachers back at their base, so it's obvious that he's not genuine and that he's working for that lead poacher…"

"That is the same effect that guy's group is going to have on our tribes and clans in the Sanctuary de Amazon," said Chiquitita worriedly, "If that guy is fooling Tulio and his team…"

The other four adults glanced at Chiquitita and realised that she was right. Because the poachers were going to infiltrate the Sanctuary de Amazon disguised as ecologists, their outlook is going to fool the macaws and other birds of the sanctuary, and they could assume that these humans were harmless when they were in fact not, and that was what will be jeopardising the bird tribes and clans' trust in well-meaning humans. And the day of departure was tomorrow. Then Jupiter began to concoct a plan.

"We're going to have to find a way to expose that faker," said Travis in a low growl, his crest raised and eyes flashing with disgust at Ernesto as he disappeared into the men's changing room to get dressed.

"Well, trying to do that to Tulio and his team directly would not work," said Mars, "If Susan and Lucy find us here, they'd probably think we're trying to cause them trouble…"

"Well, Tulio and his team are going to go to the Sanctuary de Amazon tomorrow," said Jupiter, "So we're going to have to tag along with them."

This was met by shocked glares from the other four adults.

"What!?" asked Sunset in disbelief.

"You mean you want us to go with them?" asked Mars.

"We don't have a choice," said Jupiter. Then another idea entered his head. "I know, why don't you lot go with Tulio and his team while I join Catina and see if I could help her free our other friends?"

"But Jupiter," growled Mars angrily, "That is EXTREMELY unwise! What if you ended up getting caught by Nigel again?"

"You only managed to escape with a nasty bite mark on your foot from him last night," said Travis, "It's a good thing a bone wasn't broken in your foot like how Broccoli's paw had suffered that small fracture."

"The next time you get caught by Nigel," said Sunset, "You might not be so fortunate."

"That's right," said Mars. He then shot Jupiter a glare and said, "Seriously, Jupiter, you don't have much chance against that dangerous psychopathic cockatoo."

"Not to mention those falcons and cats," put in Travis.

"Look, I have risked my life before to rescue my friends when we were dealing with that Brutus," said Jupiter, a determined look on his face, "And because my mate and four chicks are still back at the poachers' base likely being tortured by Nigel with the rest of our friends, and Catina might need some help anyway, I wanna go back to the poachers' base."

"Well, in that case, I'll go along with you," said Chiquitita, "You might need backup in case you do run into trouble."

"But Chiquitita," began Mars but Chiquitita shot him a stubborn glare.

"I wanna help Ruby and the others as well, Mars," she growled, "Ruby's been my best friend since we were chicks, and Jewel's my friend as well despite the rocky start we had when we had been enemies, so I'm gonna go with Jupiter too."

Mars was about to argue but when he saw the adamant look on Chiquitita's face, he decided to go along as well, especially as the thoughts about Mercury and Venus came to mind. Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre then opted to go with their parents and Jupiter.

"We wanna go with Mom, Dad, and Uncle Jupiter as well," said Phobos, "We wanna rescue our friends too."

"Especially Carla, Bia and Tiago," said Deimos. Alexandre nodded in agreement. At first Travis was about to say something but then he closed his beak having changed his mind. Then he found something else to say.

"Okay," he said, "We'll split up. You go after the poachers with Catina while we go after Tulio and his team."

Then Travis shot Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre a glare and said, "And you three, you MUST stick by your elders' sides. That group of poachers are extremely dangerous and if you end up caught or hurt…"

"Look, we'll keep an eye on them," said Jupiter, a glance at the three sons of Mars and Chiquitita, "Now you five go after Tulio and his team while the rest of us go after the poachers with Catina."

"We will try our best to free more of our friends but I can't guarantee any full success," said Mars.

"Okay, you lot go ahead," said Travis, "While we take care of Tulio and his team and keep an eye on that spy."

Sunset then turned round and saw the dark brown haired man walk out of the men's changing room, dressed in his uniform like the other workers and frowned and then gazed back at the red macaws.

"Okay, let's go," she said, "It's time to put this plan into action. I'll see you guys hopefully soon."

'No,' thought Sunset, 'we _might_ see you soon.'

Then Jupiter, Mars and Chiquitita hugged Travis and Sunset while Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre hugged Eustace, Milo and Rosa.

"You lot be careful out there," said Travis firmly as he broke the hug with the three red macaws.

"And also watch that you don't end up caught, especially by Nigel," said Sunset, "I have a feeling that he may be as bad as Brutus, especially now that he is bent on revenge on Blu and his family and if anyone ever gets in his way…"

"I am aware of that, Sunset, thanks," said Jupiter, "We'll be as careful as we can."

"And besides, we have a former smugglers' cat with years of experience in stealth by our side," said Mars, a determined smile on his face. Then after a few more minutes of conversation, the red macaws all turned and opened their wings. Jupiter took off first, and then Mars and Chiquitita, and then finally, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre.

"See you, you six," said Travis as the red macaws left through the window, "And take extreme care!"

"Make sure you listen to Catina for she is very wise, especially in regards to stealth," said Sunset. Eustace, Milo and Rosa also shouted goodbye. Jupiter shot the cockatoo family a smile before finally disappearing altogether through the window, Mars and his family in tow.

"Be careful, my red macaw friends," said Travis. Deep down he was worried for them, especially Jupiter after the injury he had suffered last night. However, he seemed fine now, if in some pain still. His mind then snapping to what the cockatoo had to do, Travis led his family back to watching Tulio and his group as they all prepared to have their discussion. Then as soon as Tulio's team was ready including Jack, Jill and Fernando with all the members dressed in their uniforms, Tulio led the group into the meeting room. They were going to have a preview of the trip to the Amazon and the tasks they were going to do. As the group walked into the room Fernando, Jack and Jill shot Ernesto a worried look. All three had a hunch that there was something not quite right about this person, but none of the others would believe them. Then an idea entered Jack, Jill and Fernando's heads.

 **Meanwhile**

At the vet's mini animal hospital where various animals, mostly cats and dogs were taken to have check-ups or receiver treatment for various injuries and illnesses, a certain tabby cat was lying in a cage in the recovery room, a sombre look marking his face, ears drooping and his left front paw, the one that had been partly broken by Nigel's bite, set in a white solid cast. Around him, various cats and dogs were talking, playing and resting, and some were still eating their breakfast. Broccoli's feeding bowl was still full for Broccoli was not very hungry. He was still wracked with guilt at not putting in enough effort to protect Blu and Jewel's kids from getting captured and caged by the psychotic cockatoo, though he had put in his best efforts. Suddenly, three flashes of brown, black and chocolate rushed by as three Labrador puppies, one black, one chocolate brown and the other a lighter brown like that of mud, playfully chased each other, yipping and barking and clumsily stumbling over each other as they ran about. Broccoli watched the three puppies and sighed, sinking his face into the bedding. Just then, six shapes, one light grey and large, another light grey and smaller and the other four small, two resembling Broccoli and the other two looking like a mix of Veggie and Catina, appeared and partly filled the entrance to Broccoli's cage. When Broccoli opened his eyes, he saw two greyhounds and four cats. Dash, Eduarda who had her body in a bandage, Veggie and Broccoli's brother Thomas and sisters Daisy and Collette had come in to see him.

"Hi, brother," said Collette.

"We have come to check on you," said Daisy.

"To make sure you are alright," added Thomas. Broccoli just sighed and murmured, "Thanks."

"You've been in that miserable state since Susan and Lucy took us to the vet's," said Eduarda, "Is that incident involving that foul cockatoo still bothering you?"

Dash and Veggie also had asked the same question through their facial expressions but Broccoli tried to deny it.

"No," he said but Veggie could tell that this was not true.

"I can tell whenever something is bothering you son based on your facial expression," said Veggie firmly.

"It has to be when Nigel attacked you when you tried defending Carla, Bia and Tiago," said Dash. Broccoli, seeing the confirmatory looks on his father and the greyhound's faces, then began to honestly let it out.

"Yes, it is," he murmured in defeat, tears welling in his eyes again, "It's my fault that Blu and Jewel's chicks ended up caught…"

"What have I told you, son?" asked Veggie firmly, "It is not your fault. Nigel was just too smart and violent…"

"Yes, and despite your best effort," put in Collette, "He would have broken through your attempts to protect those three Spix macaw chicks anyway."

"According to Blu, Nigel is an extremely intelligent cockatoo and especially cunning as is violent," said Dash, "But you certainly were brave to stand your ground against that violent cockatoo, even if it meant getting hurt."

He then glanced at Eduarda and said, "In fact, both of you were, especially you Eduarda. Veggie told me how well you applied your skills in self-defence including the defence pose, the growling and the baring of our teeth."

"I wouldn't have done that at all," said Thomas, "I would have bolted at the sight of that cockatoo coming towards me with his eyes ablaze with wrath."

"Neither would I," said Collette. Daisy nodded in agreement. Then Broccoli moved on.

"So, how are things back home?" he asked.

"Oh, we have some fantastically good news," said Veggie with a firm but relieved look on his face, "Susan and Lucy have finally come to the conclusion that the mess in the living room and kitchen wasn't our doing at all."

"Neither have we been fighting," said Veggie. He then looked down his body and saw that his minor cuts and bruises were healing. The cuts and bruises marking the other cats and dogs apart from Ginger were also healing and the group was still lively.

"Susan and Lucy, in fact, have suspected that they have had intruders," said Dash, "Based on the claw marks on the sofa, the chairs and the walls and the shape of your injury according to the vet's."

"Well, what other animal could make a v-shaped mark?" asked Broccoli with a frown, "Cat or dog teeth cannot make wounds like that."

"The vet said that you had been attacked by a parrot," said Dash, "And since we have never ever had any fights with our feathered friends, it is obvious that another parrot had attacked you. They don't know that it was Nigel's doing but at least they know that it is not Jupiter or his group's doing."

"They believe them to still be in the Amazon, anyway," said Broccoli.

"True," said Dash. Then he shot a few of the animal carers a glance before turning back to Broccoli.

"Anyway, we'd better be off," he said, "Eduarda's free to go home for her injury is not too serious but you still need some more time here until your paw gets better and secondly, our presence is not welcome by the animal doctors here."

"Will you be able to rescue our friends and try to stop the poachers?" asked Broccoli with pleading eyes, "I don't want our feathered friends to be abused by that sickly cockatoo and smuggled out of Brazil against their will."

"We're planning on it, son," said Veggie, "But we have no time to explain it. You get some rest and we'll see you next time."

Broccoli was about to protest but knew that Veggie and Dash were right. Their presence was not allowed and Veggie and Dash wanted to be out of here as soon as possible before any of the doctors spotted them and complained. Then after saying goodbye to Broccoli, the group left, leaving Broccoli to rest, his spirits lifted slightly by the gust of assurance that it was not his fault that Carla, Bia and Tiago had been captured, and that Susan and Lucy had finally realised that it had not been Dash, Veggie and company's fault for the mess of the living room and kitchen back at their home.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22- Nigel's evil trauma inflicting plans, Mars's fantastic lock picking idea**

Back at the poachers' den, the poachers and their falcons, crows and new additions to their team, Otis and the cats and Nigel, were up having breakfast. Again, they had not bothered about feeding the macaws and the poor birds were left suffering from hunger again. This time, the macaws had been left in the poachers' room. At least the macaws did not have to catch glimpses of Nigel grossly stuffing himself like a gannet on those mice again. Unlike Jupiter and Mars, Travis and their families, the macaws had not had an easy night's sleep at all. In fact, some of the macaws were still asleep in their cages but some had woken up, weary from a difficult night last night. In one cage, Pluto and his family were struggling to get up.

"Man," moaned Pluto wearily, his eyes droopy and his feathers out of place, "What a night. I hope this is the last night we'll ever get to spend in this dilapidated place."

Lapis Lazuli shot Pluto a weary but bitter glare as she looked over the still sleeping Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor. The four glaucous chicks were huddled together for warmth. They had been waking up constantly last night, fearing that Nigel might come and attack them while they slept, and Lapis Lazuli had been up for moist of the night trying to settle them down by constantly reassuring them while at the same time keeping an eye on the cockatoo. But there had been other factors that prevented the macaws from getting sufficient sleep besides the fear of Nigel coming in to harm them while they slept.

"Well at least those rotten poachers and their pets had slept well last night," growled Lapis Lazuli sourly and irritably. Whenever she was tired, she was snappy like a firecracker, "Their snoring has constantly kept us awake for most of the night AND the floors of these wretched cages were too hard."

"Shh," rebuked Neptune from the cage next to the glaucous macaws, "The others are trying to sleep."

Lapis Lazuli irritably looked through the bars of the cage and saw the sleeping forms of the other macaws. Ultramarine was lying on her stomach with her wings wrapped around Triton and Indigo next to Neptune, Uranus was asleep next to Esmeralda, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon as they slept together, Cobalto, Ceres, Wilbur, Aurelio and Azul, and Saturn, Orquidea, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus were also still asleep, huddled together, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto were just about to wake up after an uneasy night without Jupiter, especially Ruby, and the Spix and Lear's macaws had also had a difficult night. Blu and Jewel had tried snuggling together as well but due to the stress of the environment and the hardness of the cage floor, they had been tossing and turning while Venus, Zephyr, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil and Carla, Bia and Tiago who had huddled together for warmth and comfort, were still asleep as were Mercury, Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette. Then a rumbling noise emanated from Pluto's stomach. At this, the male glaucous macaw frowned and placed a wing on his belly.

"Not again," he murmured.

"Huh, when our chicks wake up," muttered Lapis Lazuli, her eyes drooping from lack of sleep, "They will be complaining to us to feed them."

She then let loose a frustrated hiss and glared bitterly at the door. "It seems like those poachers have not bothered to feed us… _again!"_

Oh, no Lapis Lazuli was always whining. She hated times like these and especially loathed the cruelty of the poachers but it wasn't surprising. She could not stand to be in the hands of cruel humans but she also had that attitude towards well-meaning humans as well before she eventually warmed up to them. Human danger and total mistrust of all humans, whether well-meaning or not, had been a solid teaching of the glaucous macaw tribe and as a chick; Lapis Lazuli had had those teachings hard-wired into her brain, thus she grew up with every other glaucous macaw chick of her generation believing that all humans were destructive menaces that destroy the environment or capture animals. But now after learning that not all humans were bad and destructive, Lapis Lazuli had learned to trust well-meaning humans, but the belief that she had been taught as a chick had still been present in the glaucous macaw tribe. It had taken a LOT of effort and conviction of their current leaders, Lapis Lazuli's cousin Rudi and his mate Valeria, to believe the fact that not all humans were destructive and pesky menaces but after one fateful night involving the most recent fire, the glaucous macaws had learned to trust well-meaning humans. But Lapis Lazuli was concerned for this newly established trust the glaucous macaws had of such humans and how these poachers were threatening to jeopardise it. Then Lapis Lazuli shot Zephyr and his family with Carla, Bia and Tiago a worried look as something else concerned her.

"But while I was lying next to Pluto," she said to Neptune, "I heard Nigel utter something under his breath which sounded like, 'How disgusting, those lowly blue birds snuggling up to one another', or something like that."

Neptune looked at the Spix macaws including Blu and Jewel. "Well I don't want to talk about that cockatoo. He's caused us enough trouble as it is since he found us…"

But no sooner had these words fled from his beak when an oily voice mockingly sounded, "Well, I'm glad to hear that, pretty hyacinth bird."

At this, Neptune, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli turned round and when they saw the speaker walk into the room with a scornful look glowing sickeningly on his face, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli backed away and spread their wings across their sleeping chicks protectively while Neptune's navy blue plumage bristled like a pufferfish's spines as a hostile glare formed on the hyacinth macaw's face.

"What do you want Nigel!?" growled Neptune bitterly. Pluto and Lapis Lazuli also glared at the cockatoo, Pluto with a timid look on his face with a hint of hostility thrown into it and Lapis Lazuli with a clearly acidic one on her face. Nigel strode into the room shovelling a mouse disgustingly down his throat and marched up to the glaucous and hyacinth macaw cages. He shot Ruby just as she was waking up as he approached Neptune.

"She'll be longing for her beloved mate to come back and rescue her and the rest of you, you know," crooned Nigel in a slimy voice, before eying Neptune and glancing briefly at Ultramarine, "While you'll be risking your life to defend that beautiful hyacinth girl of yours and your two cute little kiddiewinks."

Neptune, however, did not find this one bit amusing. He was not usually short-tempered but after a difficult night compounded by the taunting and abuse the group had received from this disgusting cockatoo so far, Neptune's wall of containing his temper had thinned to the point of breaking. One example of this was that Neptune was barely resisting the urge to lash out at Nigel and claw the scornful look from his face but, like Saturn, he did not want to inflict Nigel with an injury unless it was necessary, such as defence. And being a hyacinth macaw, one of the largest known species of parrots, Neptune was almost twice the size of Nigel and could easily cripple him with a serious injury but Neptune resisted that urge.

"In fact it will be the same for the other couples," crooned Nigel wickedly in addition. His eyes then travelled to Venus and Mercury, "Especially for Pigtails (Venus) and Grey-eyes (Mercury) when I carry out my plans to rip their families apart."

"The thought of you devastating Venus and Mercury like how you did when they were chicks is enough to make any of us feel sick you disgusting cockatoo," growled Neptune fiercely, his entire navy blue plumage spiked out like a cat's hairs. Even the feathers in his frontal tassel-like flick and ruffle on the back of his head were spiked out. "You're sick in the head, did you know that?"

Suddenly, a talon darted into the cage and seized Neptune by the neck. Neptune was then brought down to Nigel's level. Neptune could not believe the amount of strength in that talon. Nigel may be almost half his size but he certainly was strong, and the vice around Neptune's neck was strong enough to almost cut off his breathing, and Neptune became alarmed when he felt sharp needles prick his skin. Nigel then looked Neptune right in the eye, his brown eyes ablaze with bitterness and his foul breath made Neptune wince in revulsion.

"If there's anything that makes me sick, hyacinth bird," snapped Nigel bitterly, spittle flying into Neptune's face as he spoke, "It's you pretty birds livin' a happy life, and I will do anything to destroy that happiness."

He then thrusted Neptune back into the cage, making the hyacinth macaw stumble and fall onto his back and then snapped a glance at Blu and Jewel as they slept and added, "Especially that blue macaw over there, the one who caused me so much misery and humiliation following his grounding me of my flight. He and his family deserve to suffer the most, they do," Nigel then turned back to Neptune as he stood up and rubbed his neck and added, "And as for you, hyacinth bird, I have an ideal plan to devastate you a second time like how I did when you were young when you were smuggled out of your birthplace."

Neptune then began to feel revulsion and threat sweep through him. As he rose to his feet and his blue eyes fixed upon Nigel once again, he began to feel his temper boil.

"Get away from us," he hissed hostilely, a large talon raised and claws poised to lash at Nigel, "Before I scratch your face, adding to the three you have already got."

However, Nigel was completely unfazed by Neptune's large talon. A mocking chuckle escaped his throat. He then eyed Ultramarine.

"And I don't want you to even think about trying to save your beloved girl when I implement that plan," added Nigel, "Because if you do, YOU will be putting your life in great danger as well."

"I would rather risk my life than to see you put Ultramarine, my son and daughter or ANY of the other macaws through such agonising pain and torture," snarled Neptune bitterly, his talon hovering in the air ready to scratch Nigel. "Now get away from us or I'll scratch you. You've been warned."

Another unafraid and mocking laugh escaped Nigel's beak.

"Ah, love," he crooned in mock awe, "It's such a powerful and… STUPID thing. Lovebirds certainly don't know any better, do they?"

He then laughed as this insult struck Neptune like a stone against his head. Nigel then took a step back as the other adult macaws began to wake up and also to avoid receiving a nasty scratch from the male hyacinth macaw. Pluto and Lapis Lazuli, who had been watching Nigel as he taunted Neptune silently the entire time, continued to gaze on with their wings spread across the still-sleeping Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor. At the door to the bedroom, a calico's head slowly peered around the frame. Catina had sneaked upstairs while the poachers and the pets were preparing to go downstairs to get breakfast and had hidden herself as they left. Now she was watching Nigel as he taunted the macaws some more.

"As for the others," continued Nigel, "I have other ideas for how they are going to suffer but they're all based on the same template. I am going to kill some of them to devastate their mates and chicks… apart from Blu and Jewel and their three little chicks, whose lives I am going to spare. However," Nigel turned extremely bitter, "I am going to instead tear that family apart when we come to sorting you useless birds into destination groups once we're done poaching as many macaws from the Sanctuary de Amazon and we're ready to sell you to various countries. To make Blu and Jewel pay for the loss I have suffered because of them, I am going to make them feel extreme loss as well. I am going to force them apart from their chicks and put them into different destination groups…"

"You can't DO THAT!" shouted Pluto, speaking boldly for the first time, "You'll emotionally scar Carla, Bia and Tiago for life and break Blu and Jewel's hearts into two."

"Yeah, and Carla and her siblings are still young," put in Lapis Lazuli, "They're not even adolescents yet and if you inflict such deep trauma like that on them, they're going to be affected for a long time to come."

But Nigel, the sickening bird he was, smiled wickedly at the thought of the consequences of his actions against Blu and his family. He knew absolutely full well that these affects Lapis Lazuli and Pluto had said would be true. At the door, Catina's eyes widened and her head jerked upward in horror. However, someone else was also watching Nigel and had heard of his plans. Cometa had followed Nigel back upstairs to see what he was going to do to the macaws but when she overheard Nigel tell the hyacinth macaw and the two glaucous macaws his wicked ideas, horror tore through her like a tear in a sheet of paper as well.

"That is exactly the idea," Nigel crooned sadistically, eyes focussed on Blu and Jewel and sniggering at the thought of seeing them in heartbreak as their chicks were torn from them. "I want those two to feel the loss I felt for my ability to fly," he then hardened his gaze at the three and added in a more sadistic tone of voice, "Just like how that cat who tried defendin' my two most detested nemeses' three chicks when I bit his paw hard. I hope I have broken a bone or two in his wrist."

Neptune, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli winced in utter revulsion at the cockatoo's guiltless laugh and lack of remorse, especially after what he did to Broccoli, and Nigel absolutely showed no sliver of it whatsoever. In fact, replaying the agonised screeches of Broccoli when he bit his paw hard made Nigel burst into laughing even harder as though the whole thing was some comedy show. At the door, Catina felt hot rage and disgust burn through her. 'Nigel has injured one of my sons!?' she snarled in her head, and an enormous urge to jump out at Nigel and claw him outright boiled within her. However, Catina had to remain focussed on her task and if she did jump out at Nigel, her presence would be given away, especially to Otis and his gang for they still had the desire to avenge her. Nigel then shot a glance back at the door, making Catina shrink back so that the cockatoo couldn't see her, and then looked back at Pluto, Lapis Lazuli and Neptune.

"Anyway, I'm off," he crooned wickedly, "Cazador will be bossing me around again and accusing me of being silly if I stay up here. I hope you lot will have had some lovely nightmares last night," his face then turned into the most diabolical look Neptune, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli had ever seen, "Perhaps of seein' me standin' over your brutally clawed carcases of your mates and you cryin' out in utter anguish while I laugh in triumph and at your heartbreak."

And with his signature laugh, he turned round and trotted away.

"You fiend!" growled Neptune.

"Sorry, hyacinth macaw," said Nigel cruelly, "But there's nothing you can do. You are all trapped with no way out."

Then with a final wicked titter, he disappeared out of the room, leaving Pluto, Lapis Lazuli and Neptune to gaze on. Then soon, the other adult macaws were awake. They stretched themselves, yawned and stood up. The two glaucous macaws and hyacinth macaw looked around at the others.

"Ugh, what a difficult night it has been," muttered Ceres as she wearily got up, "I barely got any decent sleep at all."

"Neither did me," said Cobalto. Next to Neptune, Ultramarine stood up after releasing a yawn. However, Neptune, and Pluto and Lapis Lazuli, were reluctant to tell the others what Nigel was planning to do, especially to Blu and Jewel, by the time the smuggling stage comes. However, that reluctance will have to be unplugged as the male hyacinth macaw soon found himself the focal point of two suspicious gazes from two Spix macaws, one with teal eyes and the other with brown.

"Neptune," asked Blu, "Has Nigel been up here? We heard someone talking but we were just waking up."

Neptune, at first, said nothing but then found himself at the receiving ends of more gazes from the other macaws. Pluto and Lapis Lazuli also flinched as all eyes gazed at them too.

"Out with it, pal," growled Jewel bitterly. Zephyr, Venus, Mercury, Sapphire, Cobalto, Ceres, Saturn, Orquidiea, Esmeralda, Uranus, Ruby and even Neptune's own mate Ultramarine also had their eyes, though droopy from tiredness, boring into the three as they began to find words to say. Then finally, Lapis Lazuli spoke.

"Yes he has but you're not going to like what he's told us and what he's planning to do to you lot," she murmured.

"Then spit it out," snapped Jewel bitterly. Then Lapis Lazuli launched into telling the others everything Nigel had told her, Pluto and Neptune, including how he was looking forward to tearing Blu's family apart in revenge for his loss of flight, and how he was going to kill at least one family member of the other families to bring devastation on the remaining macaws and the chicks. After Lapis Lazuli had finished, hot rage burned through Blu and Jewel and their feathers rose in a hostile way. While the macaws focussed on talking with each other, Catina crept in carefully but quickly.

"That Nigel's gonna face some serious clawing from us then," shouted Jewel loudly.

"Yeah," added Blu, his brown eyes ablaze with fury.

"Shh, you'll attract unwanted attention from downstairs," said Saturn warily.

"Does it look like we CARE!?" screeched Jewel, her voice carrying and jolting the chicks awake. At this, Carla, Bia and Tiago who were snuggled close to Justin and his three siblings for warmth, woke up, making Venus and Zephyr look their direction and help them wake up.

"Shh, Jewel, keep your voice down," said Uranus but Jewel stubbornly refused to listen. She was by now coming towards the end of her tether and it seemed that Nigel's threats had finally pushed her and Blu to breaking point. Jewel continued shaking with fury, barely able to hold it in. her eyes were screwed shut and she felt like she could burst any moment, but before she could eventually let it out in a fierce hissy fit in the form of screeching and shouting with Blu just gazing at the ground with brown eyes ablaze with anger, a voice sounded.

"Now before you start throwing a temper tantrum Jewel, let's get the rest of you freed from this place and then the poachers turned in."

At this, the others including Jewel who was pulled in time from exploding into a violent rage looked up and saw a calico cat stand near the group.

"Catina," said the adults altogether. The chicks also all woke up and saw Catina as she smiled at them, prepared to rescue more of them. They were desperate to get out of this place as soon as possible. At the window, someone else was watching. Jupiter, Mars, Chiquitita, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre had returned and were prepared to help Catina free the rest of their friends but they were wary of the poachers roaming around downstairs. From her hiding place, Cometa watched but was blocked by reluctance to make a move for fear that Cazador might cross-examine her again if any more macaws were freed. Quietly, she made her way to the entrance to the room and sneaked downstairs, feeling sorry that she was unable to help Catina this time.

"I hope you free those other birds, calico," the falcon remorsefully whispered as she left, "But you'd better be quick or you'd be caught."

"How did you manage to keep well-hidden all through the night last night?" asked Saturn. Catina did not reply and instead jumped over to Zephyr, Venus and their chicks, and Carla, Bia and Tiago's cage and clicked a claw. As she inserted it into the keyhole to begin fiddling with the padlock and unlock it, Catina said, "I have no time to explain, Saturn. Those poachers will soon be finishing their breakfast and coming back up here any moment, so I have to be fast."

Zephyr and Venus and the nine chicks looked on with gladness as Catina then tried clicking the padlock so that she could free them.

"You might have to carry us in our cage out of here, Catina," said Blu, "It would take you and me too long to get through this cluster of padlocks based on my calculations."

Jewel rolled her eyes in the flash of amusement she had felt for her mate's nerd-bird trait, but then impatience soon crawled back in. as they watched Catina continue to try and free Zephyr and the others in their cage, Jupiter began to discuss with Mars and Chiquitita while Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre kept an eye on the doorway to the room.

"Okay, here's what I would like you to do," whispered Jupiter. Catina continued fiddling with the padlock, mumbling to herself impatiently.

"Why don't you just carry us out?" asked Venus.

"I can't," said Catina, "I'd be easily seen and besides that, it would mean dragging you along which would make too much noise…"

Suddenly, the sounds of talking travelled through the doorway and reached the group's ears.

"Catina, someone's coming!" hissed Jewel. At this, the calico stopped working on Zephyr, Venus and the nine Spix macaw chicks' padlocked and dived into hiding behind one of the beds. Then suddenly, there was a whooshing sound. At this, all eyes turned and to their shock, they saw three red macaws, one vermillion with yellow in his wings and the other two a darker red with green in their wings swoop into the room.

"Mars, Chiquitita, Jupiter!" shouted Blu in shock. Mars, Jupiter and Chiquitita stole a glance from him and Jewel and winked but when they head the sounds of talking increase through the doorway and seeing that there was too little time to select which cages to take, the three macaws quickly made their choice.

"Jupiter, go for your mate and chicks," said Jewel, "Don't worry about us."

Quickly, Jupiter, at Jewel's behest, seized the cage holding Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, grabbing the bars with his only good talon, the right one and flapped away with it, clumsily carrying it vertically and accidentally throwing Ruby and his chicks to the opposite side of the cage as he made a beeline for the window while Mars and Chiquitita seized Saturn and his family's cage and rushed off after Jupiter. Catina watched as the three adult red birds rushed out of the room with Ruby and Saturn's cages in tow, disappearing seconds before the talkers, which were Otis, Moggy, some crows and two of the human poachers, Gale and John, appeared in the doorway and entered the room. Catina then hid herself among the bed's shadow to watch the poachers while Jupiter, Mars and Chiquitita made off with the cages containing Ruby, Saturn, Orquidea and their chicks, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre in tow. The group flew on until they finally found a safe and hidden place not far from Lysandre's group's hide out. There, the red macaws descended with the cages and landed there. As soon as they had landed, Ruby, who had her wings tightly wrapped around Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, looked up rather dizzily from the rather rough flight and when she saw her mate then pick up a stone to smash the padlock with it, she smiled.

"Jupiter," she cried, tears of joy in her eyes.

"Dad," cried Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto happily but Jupiter only shot them an approving glance.

"Sorry for the rough ride, my rose gem and kids," he said apologetically, "But we had to move very quickly or we'd have been captured again."

'Rose gem' was Jupiter's affectionate nickname for Ruby, much like how 'star flower' was Zephyr's name to Venus. Some of the other male macaws also had specific affectionate nicknames for their mates as well. Mercury's for Sapphire was 'blue gem' and Saturn's for Orquidea was 'Flor Azul Y Amarilla' (Spanish for 'blue and yellow flower' for Saturn had learnt some Spanish). Jupiter then began to bash the padlock fiercely with the rock. Ruby got a glimpse of Jupiter's left talon in its bandage but said nothing. While Jupiter smashed the rock against the padlock to break it, utilising his strength in the process, Mars and Chiquitita began to figure out how to unlock the padlock locking Saturn, Orquidea, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus in their cage.

"Boy, am I glad to see you, Mars and Chiquitita," said Saturn as the couple examine the padlock. Nearby, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre were looking for a suitable device to help unlick the padlock when Alexandre's eyes landed on something discarded on the floor. Part of the object was silvery as it glinted in the sunlight. Alexandre, compelled by intrigue walked over to it to examine it closer.

"You did give us a bit of an uncomfortable ride," said Orquidea as she rubbed her head and checked the seven chicks which she had also kept firmly wrapped in her wings for the whole flight. Mars and Chiquitita's frantic flight had rocked the cage quite harshly, and Orquidea had bumped her head several times on the bars.

"Look, we're sorry for the discomfort but we had to fly really quickly," said Chiquitita, "We didn't have time to slowly and carefully carry you but at least you're not too badly hurt."

"I'll be glad to get out of this cage," said Saturn, "We've been locked up in this dreaded thing for more than a day now."

"Once you free us," said Orquidea, "We're going to go back and rescue the others."

"Whoa, one stage at a time, Orquidea," said Mars, "Let's just focus on getting you and Ruby out of these cages first."

He then examined the padlock and began to figure out how to unlock it.

"I know Blu, Veggie and Catina are skilled in using their claws in unlocking these things," Mars said, "But I had never been good at picking locks…"

"But you've spent much of your life as a pet, Mars," said Orquidea, "I thought you'd be used to cages."

Mars looked at her. "That's true but we have always used keys to unlock padlocks, not pick them with our claws," he said. Orquidea then let loose a frustrated sigh. She was clearly desperate to be out of this piece of junk. Then Titan saw Alexandre, Phobos and Deimos fly in. Behind the group, Jupiter continued bashing the padlock furiously with the rock while Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto watched on.

"Uncle Mars, Aunt Chiquitita," said Titan, "Alexandre's got something."

At this, Mars and Chiquitita turned round and saw their sons approach them. Alexandre carried something in his talons. It had a partially cylindrical part coloured black and yellow and out of one end protruded a silvery stick. The end of the stick was flattened into a carving tool Mars had seen called a chisel. The metallic surface of the stick glinted in the sun.

"Will this do, Dad?" asked Alexandre.

"A screwdriver?" asked Mars in confusion, "How am I gonna pick the padlock with that thing?"

But then it came to him. "Oh, I get it," he said with a smile. He then reached out a talon and took the screwdriver from Alexandre.

"Maybe this would make a makeshift key," said Mars as he examined the chisel-like end of the screwdriver. "I've heard of these sometimes being used as lock pickers. Brilliant idea, Alexandre, thanks. Where did you find it?"

"On the floor," said Alexandre, a proud smile adorning his beak. Phobos and Deimos frowned at their younger but larger brother.

"Hey, we helped you to find it too," said Phobos.

"We in fact found it together, even though you found it first," said Deimos. Then Chiquitita looked at the screwdriver and said, "Well if that makes a good lock pick, why not use it?"

Mars then turned round and took the screwdriver over to Saturn's cage to try it out. While he inserted the screwdriver's sharp end into the padlock's keyhole, Jupiter continued pelting the padlock on Ruby's cage with the rock. The padlock was beginning to show signs of damage. The metal body where the keyhole was drilled in was deformed and out of shape but the u-shaped piece, the part that clipped onto the cage door and locked into the locking mechanism inside the main body was still in its locking position.

"Can you manage it Jupiter?" asked Ruby. Jupiter threw down the rock in frustration.

"It's deforming but the lock won't break," he replied, "I'm never gonna unlock that thing."

Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto all let loose despairing sighs when suddenly, Mars's voice jolted Jupiter out of his disappointment.

"I think we may have found an effective solution to the problem, Jupiter," said Mars. At this, Jupiter and his still-caged family looked up and saw, to their surprise, that Saturn, Orquidea, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus were standing out of the cage next to Mars, Chiquitita, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre. Mars stood there with a smug look on his face while holding up a black and yellow thing with a silvery stick. Jupiter was struck by shock.

"You managed to free Saturn and his family from their cage!?" he asked incredulously, "H-how…"

"Our sons Alexandre, Phobos and Deimos found this thingamajig," said Chiquitita.

"It's called a screwdriver," said Mars.

"Whatever it is," said Chiquitita, "And Mars used it as a lock pick and managed to unlock the padlock."

At this, Jupiter and Ruby were filled with amazement.

"A screwdriver as a lock pick?" asked Jupiter in awe, "What a fantastic idea!"

"Alexandre, Phobos, Deimos, you three are geniuses," said Ganymede impressed. Callisto, Io and Europa nodded in agreement.

"It should work on Ruby's cage as well," said Saturn. Then Mars walked over to Ruby's cage and stuck the silver tip of the screwdriver into the keyhole of the padlock. Then after some fiddling, a click was heard as the u-shaped lock part clicked from its counterpart inside the body of the padlock. Even though it was deformed having being repeatedly battered by Jupiter's rock, the screwdriver still unlocked the padlock. As soon as he had unlocked the padlock, Mars tossed it away and opened the door, allowing Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto out of their cage. The moment his family was out, Jupiter was swallowed by Ruby and his four kids as they smothered him with relieved hugs. However, he did not mind for he was glad that his family was out.

"Boy, I'm glad to be out," cried Ruby as she cried into Jupiter's chest. Jupiter then returned the hug and the scarlet macaw family all shared a group hug. The others looked on.

"Keep that screwdriver, Mars," said Saturn with a talon point to the tool Mars had, "You'll need it to free the others."

Mars smiled and obeyed this statement.

"Blu is going to be amazed at the solution you and your sons have managed to find," said Orquidea, "It will help speed things along."

"It is actually more effective than using claws," said Mars as he proudly gazed at the screwdriver. Then as soon as the scarlet macaws had broken their hug, Jupiter stood to the front, his bandaged left foot huddled against his tummy feathers.

"Right, are we ready to join forces with Catina?" he asked.

"But Jupiter, what about Tulio and his team?" asked Saturn.

"Should they be alerted first?" asked Orquidea.

"Absolutely," said Ruby in agreement.

Chiquitita then smiled. "Don't worry, Travis and his family already have that covered," she said. At this, all eyes apart from Mars, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre, and Jupiter shot her a surprised glare.

"We'll explain later," said Jupiter, "But for now, let's return to the poachers' hideout and free the others and get rid of those two cages."

The others all cheered in agreement and with that, the red and blue and yellow birds all took off. Mars and Saturn carried the now-empty cages to dispose of them so that no-one else could use them for nasty purposes.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23- change of plans**

 **Meanwhile**

Back at Tulio's Aviary, Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa continued watching Ernesto and Tulio and his team as they carried out their usual tasks besides preparing for their trip into the Amazon scheduled tomorrow. However, the plans were about to face a change. The cockatoo family continued watching Ernesto as he continued (falsely) performing his tasks in an effort to remain camouflaged among the group of real ecologists. However, his guise did not fool the cockatoo family for they had seen him before back at Lysandre's base.

"I can't believe how convincing that guy looks among the crowd of real ecologists, Sunset," said Travis worriedly. His blue eyes then darted here and there for any signs of the pink and maroon frog that had smothered him with kisses a while ago. She was around somewhere but she was in a shadowy corner, teal eyes timidly gazing at the cockatoo and his pink mate. It was clear that Sunset's fierce reprimand had knocked some sense into this little amphibian's head like a bang against a wall and since that, she had been avoiding the cockatoo family but it had left Travis quite shaken from the stun he had received from the surprise appearance of the frog. Sunset was bitterly intolerant of someone else kissing her mate, especially passionately, whether another bird or not, and always exploded into a fearsome but controlled rage, and Travis knew of this consequence and always avoided getting romantically involved with other birds. However, his mind was on a much more important subject.

"I'm surprised Tulio and his team aren't even aware that he's a fake yet, much less his working for a poaching group planning to sneak into the Sanctuary de Amazon set up by Tulio and Linda themselves," said Sunset in a low voice, "That's going to be a problem for this group if they aren't alerted…"

"Looks like Fernando, Jack and Jill are already suspicious of that man, Mom and Dad," said Eustace. At this, Travis and Sunset's gaze landed on the three said young man and the fraternal twin brother and sister. The looks on their faces clearly indicated suspicion.

"They are," said Sunset, "But why haven't they alerted Tulio of their suspicions yet?"

"They probably would have done," said Travis, "But because so many of their teammates don't believe them, Fernando, Jack and Jill are stuck."

"I think we need to lend them a wing," said Sunset, "After all, we have been to that spy's group's base and have seen him for who he really is…"

Just then one of the bird doctors appeared. She appeared to be wandering around looking for something, or a certain bird. Travis saw a flash of white bandage in her hands as she continued looking around and asking other bird doctors about something.

"She's the same doctor who bandaged Jupiter's foot some time ago," Travis said, "Looks like Jupiter might not be back to have his bandage replaced."

"He'll be busy with Catina trying to free the other captured birds," said Sunset unworried, "It isn't surprising really…"

Just then a familiar voice echoed through the medical room accompanied by three claps, "Okay, my team, could I have your attention please? I have something important to tell you about our trip to the Sanctuary de Amazon."

At this, the five cockatoos turned and their eyes found Tulio as he shouted for the group's attention. The other employees who weren't going to go to the Amazon continued their work on treating the bird casualties or cleaning the floor or worktops while the people that were including Jack, Jill, Fernando, Linda, Susan and Lucy turned to face Tulio. Ernesto, the spy did the same.

"I wonder what Tulio has to say about his group's departure to the Amazon sanctuary," said Travis. Then the five cockatoos moved to another hidden spot and looked out.

As soon as all eyes were on the group leader, Tulio began to give an important announcement.

"I've just had a report from Francisco about the weather forecast for tomorrow," said Tulio. To his left, Francisco stood.

"They have predicted tomorrow to be racked with high winds and heavy rains starting possibly just before sunrise," said Francisco, "Which would mean unsafe conditions for flying to the Sanctuary de Amazon. I have discussed this with Tulio and we have come to a final decision regarding our departure to the sanctuary…"

All ears cocked to receive the important information. Ernesto, and Travis and his family's ears were also fully tuned.

"We're going to bring the departure time from tomorrow morning to later today," announced Francisco, "So that means you lot must get your things ready and meet us here as soon as possible."

"Yes," said Tulio, "I have contacted our pilots in Manaus to meet us here and collect us to take us to the Amazon. Do all of you get this message?"

All heads nodded in confirmation to this. Then as Tulio gave his team orders to disperse and get prepared for meeting the helicopters, Ernesto, the spy, immediately prepared to leave the building to alert Lysandre and the rest of his group.

"Well that certainly came out of the blue," said Sunset, commenting on the unexpected change of plan.

"They're leaving now?" asked Eustace.

"But I thought they were gonna leave tomorrow," said Milo. Rosa nodded in agreement. Travis creased his face into a serious look.

"Well, if Tulio and his team are leaving for the Amazon shortly," he said, "Then that means Lysandre's group will be doing the same and so will we," his eyes caught Ernesto as he left the building, "There goes that spy. Let's follow him!"

And with that, the cockatoos immediately took flight and exited the open window, the same one they had entered when Mars brought Chiquitita in for treatment last night. As soon as the five cockatoos were outside, they began to search for Ernesto until Rosa's eyes found a white form topped with dark brown hair as he headed for the vegetation.

"There he is," she squeaked. At this, the other four followed her gaze and also saw Ernesto. Immediately, they flew off after him. While Travis and his family followed Ernesto, some of the team members had left for home to gather their things ready for the early departure to the Amazon, among them Susan and Lucy.

 **Meanwhile**

Mercury, Venus, Blu, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto and their families continued sitting in their cages. They were eating more fruit brought in to them by Cometa while her groupmates' backs were turned. As they ate, some of the cats and crows had been stationed around the group to make sure that none of them got up to suspicious behaviour such as planning to escape for the group had noticed that Saturn and his family and Ruby and her four chicks had disappeared. As the macaws continued eating their fruit under the watchful hawk-like eyes of the cats and crows, among them Otis and Tom, in the shadows, Catina, together with Jupiter, Mars and Saturn, watched the group closely. Orquidea, Chiquitita, Ruby and the chicks were waiting outside for it was too dangerous for the chicks to participate. Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus were under Orquidea's care while Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre stood by Chiquitita and Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto stood by Ruby. However, the three adult female macaws were to participate in the plan as well, and Orquidea had her eyes set on the caged birds. As the three male macaws and female calico stood in the shadows behind one of the beds, Mars with his screwdriver on talon ready to pick the padlocks the moment Catina had set her rescue plan C into motion, Catina examined the cats and crows as they stood around the macaws like jail guards.

"This is going to be difficult, Catina," murmured Jupiter worriedly, his bandaged foot held closely to his stomach feathers, "If any of us are ever spotted, it'll be all over, especially for you."

"Especially since Otis and Tom are present," said Saturn.

"What do you have in mind?" asked Mars who held his screwdriver.

"Well, we're going to create a diversion first," said Catina in a low voice, "And then I want two of you to dive in and snag two of the cages. I would prefer it if you selected the cages containing Blu and Jewel, Zephyr and his family and Carla, Bia and Tiago, Mercury and his family or Pluto and his family as you do since they're ultra-rare birds…"

Jupiter gazed at the still-caged birds and chose his target: Zephyr and his family and Blu and Jewel's chicks. Because he was very strong, he could carry up to twice his usual weight. However, he would not be able to carry Neptune and his family for they were very heavy. Neptune and Ultramarine together were heavier than Jupiter and his mate Ruby, and Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto combined and it would be too difficult even for Jupiter to carry by himself, especially with having only one good foot while the other was healing. Carrying Neptune and his family's cage would require the combined effort of two, even three, macaws half their size. While Jupiter fixed his gaze on Zephyr and the others with him including the very distressed Venus whom Zephyr was trying to calm along with the frightened nine kids, Mars had his eyes on Mercury and his family (with Sapphire huddling her family close together) while Saturn's eyes were fixed on Blu and Jewel, the latter who had a very sour look on her face, as well as the cat and crow guards as he had volunteered to be the diverter to distract them. Outside the window, Orquidea was poised to fly in at Catina's signal and her eyes were laid on Pluto and his family. Catina had decided that rescuing and freeing the rare birds would be the first priority, before Uranus, Neptune and Ceres and their families who would remain, could be rescued last. As soon as the four macaws had made their choices, with Orquidea nodding to Catina carefully at the window to make sure that suspicion did not spark in any of the watchful crows and cats guarding the caged birds, Catina prepared to give the signal.

"Okay, here we go…" she whispered but before she could give the go ahead, the sounds of talking reached the group's ears, blocking the plan from going ahead much to Catina's impatient frustration. Jupiter, Saturn and Mars froze while Orquidea ducked back behind the window.

"Now what!?" Jupiter heard Jewel growl. At this, his brown eyes travelled to the doorway just as a group of figures accompanied by some bipedal feathered and quadrupedal furred ones walked into the room. One of the humans wore a surprised look on his face.

"We're going to the Amazon now?" he asked.

"Apparently so," said another figure, a woman, "But there's not time to discuss it entirely. Come one, let's get these birds to our helicopters and packed in their cargo bay."

And with that, she nodded to some of the feathered forms, which were the six falcons and Nigel, who set to work with helping to shift the cages. Nigel wore a disgusting grin on his face as he took hold of Uranus and his family's cage while the falcons helped the owners to move the others. The cat and crow guards also set to helping. From their hiding place, Catina hissed in frustration.

"Fish sticks!" she spat, "Just as we were about to initiate another rescue as well."

Then the four heard Nigel speak. "Looks like we're off to the Amazon early and without your useless friends, pretty birds," he crooned, especially to Uranus and his family who wore bitter looks on their faces as he and Otis carried them away.

"Did you hear what two of those humans said?" asked Mars. He then opened his wings to leap out toward the window to alert the female macaws and the chicks when a cat paw immediately latched onto his tail just before he could jump out of hiding.

"Stay down you nitwit until those creeps clear the room," hissed Catina as she pulled Mars back by Jupiter's side, "And then you can go and alert Orquidea and the others!"

"That would have given our position away," put in Saturn.

"Sorry," said Mars in a low voice when suddenly, Catina's paw flew to his beak.

"Shh!" hushed Catina. At this, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn looked and saw that one of the falcons, Bryony had paused to examine the room. As her piercing eyes with brilliant telescopic vision scanned every square inch of the room like a surveillance camera, Catina, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn ducked behind the bed to prevent being spotted while Orquidea hid behind the window.

"Have the cages been taken?" asked Chiquitita in a low voice but Orquidea raised a wing feather to her beak and gestured 'Shh'. Bryony continued examining the room some more, a suspicious frown on her face when suddenly, "Bryony?"

At this, Bryony's head snapped in the direction of the speaker, a look of annoyance creeping onto her face.

"What is it, Cometa?" she growled.

"Don't you think you're wasting time just staying behind here?" asked Cometa, "Lysandre will need every paw, hand and talon to help him prepare the equipment and load it onto the helicopters as Tulio and his team could be taking off for the Sanctuary de Amazon any moment."

Bryony paused for a minute until she finally admitted defeat.

"Okay, thanks for letting me know," she said slightly bitterly, "But I want you to know something, Cometa, you need to control that cheeky tongue of yours. If I were Cazador, I would have lambasted you for being cheeky. Now come on."

And with that, Bryony left for downstairs after the group that had taken the remaining caged macaws. Before following Bryony, Cometa shot Catina, Jupiter, Mars and Saturn a quick glance as they peered from behind the bed and mouthed, "You'd better be quick. You don't have much time."

And with that, she opened her wings and took off for downstairs. Catina and the three male macaws emerged from their hiding place. At the same time, Orquidea, Chiquitita and Ruby appeared with the chicks.

"I think that falcon meant it, Catina," said Mars. Catina, though her eyes were still brimming with distrust at Cometa, had to agree.

"Well, the third rescue attempt has failed folks," she said, "But we don't have time just standing here lamenting on our quashed efforts. We need to start following those poachers and their pets to the helicopters."

The chicks were struck with surprise.

"Does that mean…" began Io.

"We're going to the Amazon?" asked Ganymede, finishing Catina's question.

"I'm afraid so," said Saturn. As he said this, a thought hit him. "Oh, my," he said, "Some of us will need to fly out and warn the tribes and clans once we get there."

"We'll discuss that later," said Catina, "Come on, let's follow those poachers and sneak aboard their helicopters."

And with that the calico and the colourful group of macaws, eleven red with yellow or green and blue or teal wings and nine with aqua blue backs, yellow fronts and green foreheads scurried off out of the room.

A while later, Lysandre and company were at the old airport. They had all boarded some stolen cars to drive here. As soon as they had arrived at the airport, the pilots of the helicopters immediately got out of the cars and hurried off to bring out their flying vehicles while the rest unloaded the car boots (also called trunks) of the net guns, cages and other equipment they will use in catching the macaws and other animals on the Sanctuary de Amazon. Along with the net guns and other equipment, the crows, falcons, cats and Nigel also unloaded the cages containing the remaining caged macaws and carried them toward the helicopters. As they were being carried along, Mercury and Venus felt a wave of panic sweep over them. This process was obviously reminding them of how they were loaded onto a plane when they were chicks. Venus winced at the flashbacks of being loaded onto a plane, herself and Mercury as chicks locked in a cage, and Nigel standing over them, laughing at their anguish over the loss of their family. Next to them, Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette, and Zephyr, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda, Virgil and Carla, Bia and Tiago flickered their eyes all over the place at this strange place. They remembered Blu and Jewel telling them that this was where they were almost smuggled out of Rio several years ago, and they clearly did not like it one bit. Zephyr and Sapphire continued trying to calm Mercury and Venus down while Blu and Jewel looked around bitterly. Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Ceres and their families also looked around, hoping that the escaped birds and Catina were planning a rescue plan soon.

"I hope you know what you're doing Catina," murmured Cobalto as he hugged the frightened Aurelio, Wilbur and Azul close to himself. Uranus also held Esmeralda, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon while Pluto and Lapis Lazuli hugged Blueberry, Quincy, Charon and Flor as well. Neptune, Ultramarine, Triton and Indigo looked around timidly but disgustedly at Nigel who continued piercing them with mockery and bitter filled eyes as he did his tasks given to him by Cazador. While Lysandre and his group carried the equipment from their cars to the helicopters, which were three large Boeing-Chinook-like vehicles with two separate propellers, like the ones used in the army but with a cargo bay built into them, Catina and the escaped macaws, who had hitched a ride on one of the cars (in Catina's case) or had simply flown after the cars (Saturn, Mars and Jupiter and their families), peered out from behind one of the cars.

"Look at the size of those helicopters," murmured Mars as he awed at the size of the flying vehicles, "They're bigger than those chinook types used in the army."

"Let's just sneak aboard the cargo bay," whispered Catina and with that, the group began to make their move the moment Catina saw that all the poachers and pets' eyes were focussed entirely on the helicopters and loading their cargo bays with the equipment. Quickly, the group made a mad dash towards the copters, not wasting a second on the way for they, especially Jupiter, Mars, Saturn and their family's brightly coloured plumages stuck out against the very dark grey tarmac like brightly coloured flowers against a green background of vegetation. As the group finally made it all the way to one of the helicopters and hid behind it, the group looked out. Catina's eyes focussed first on some of Lysandre's underlings as they loaded the net guns and cages into the copter's cargo bay, before moving to the open bay itself. At another helicopter, the cats, crows and Nigel were preparing to board that helicopter's cargo bay to keep watch over the remaining caged birds as well as get smuggled into the Sanctuary de Amazon. This was what Catina and her group was aiming to do.

"Okay, here's what we're gonna do," whispered Catina to the macaws, "We're going to hop aboard this helicopter which will take us to the Sanctuary de Amazon. Once there, we're going to have to split up."

She turned to Saturn and said, "You said something about warning the macaw flocks."

"Yes," said Saturn, "Orquidea and I will do that while the rest of us try and free our remaining friends, and any bird that has been caught."

"Right, you do that," said Catina. Turning to Mars, she asked him the obvious question. Mars replied by holding up the screwdriver, much to Catina's gladness. Then suddenly, the group heard a shout.

"Come on, you lot," said Lysandre's voice, "Speed up the process. We don't have time to be loitering around. The sooner we get everything loaded, the better, now get moving."

"Okay, let's go," said Catina and with that, the group prepared to hop aboard the helicopter's cargo bay, being careful not to get spotted by any of the poachers or their pets. Jupiter's family went first.

"That Lysandre person certainly is bossy" said Callisto as she crept alongside her two sisters and brother toward the cargo bay. Catina ushered her on.

"Keep going or you'd get spotted," she said firmly. Callisto obeyed and followed Ganymede, Io, Europa, Ruby and Jupiter as they sneaked past the group underlings and entered the cargo bay. Then Mars, Chiquitita, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre went next and sneaked aboard the cargo bay and then finally, Saturn, Orquidea, Mimas and her six siblings and Catina. The blue-and-gold macaw family and calico quickly but carefully crept towards the cargo bay when suddenly, one of the women expectantly turned in their direction while she was loading a few cages onto the cargo bay. At this, she stopped briefly when she thought she saw a splotch of blue and yellow but when she properly looked at the area, there was nothing there. Thinking it was just a figment of her imagination, the woman continued her task. After almost getting spotted and seeing that the woman had resumed her task. The suspicion of the woman subsided, Saturn and his family and Catina peered out from behind the landing skids, the pole-like parts protruding out of the underneath the helicopter on which the vehicle rests when on land. After examining the poachers' attention on the cages and net guns, Catina signalled to Saturn and his family to hop aboard, Catina herself following immediately after Orquidea and Enceladus. As soon as the whole group was aboard, a sigh of relief could be breathed.

"That was close," murmured Saturn, "I thought it was the end of this plan for sure."

"Tell me about it," murmured Orquidea as her seven chicks rested against her.

"Well, the next stage is sneaking off the helicopter once we're in the Amazon," said Catina. Jupiter, Mars and their families nodded in agreement. Then as soon as the poaching group had finished loading their equipment onto the helicopters and had closed the cargo bay (unaware that Catina and her group had sneaked aboard one of them), Lysandre called the group together and the humans boarded the copters as well. As soon as they had done that, the pilots turned on the propellers and prepared for take-off.

 **Meanwhile**

Back at Susan and Lucy's house, Dash, Veggie, Ginger, and Collette, Daisy and Thomas, Eduarda, Esperanza, Danny, James and Avellana were prepared to make their own way to the meeting spot of Tulio and his team as well. As Susan and Lucy were gathering the things they needed for the journey to the Sanctuary de Amazon, the cats and dogs apart from Broccoli who was at the vet's watched.

"Are they going to the Amazon already?" asked Collette in surprise.

"It would seem so," said Thomas.

"Well, based on what Susan and Lucy had said," said Dash, "Tomorrow is forecasted high winds and rain which would mean unsuitable flying conditions."

"Then that means that Tulio and his team are heading off for the Sanctuary de Amazon right now," said Veggie. He then paused, "With those poachers right behind them."

"Those poachers will have heard the news through that spy by now," said Ginger. Then suddenly, Susan and Lucy came up to the dogs and cats and checked their food and water bowls, toilet trays and beds for the usual tasks. Satisfied that none of the bowls or the beds required refilling or changing Susan and Lucy said goodbye to the cats and dogs and told them to be good. They then grabbed their coats and left through the front door. As the lock of the front door clicked into place as Susan turned the key in its hole, Dash prepared to make the move.

"Right, let's go, but be careful not to alert Susan and Lucy of our presence," he said firmly, "The last thing we want is ending up in their bad books again."

James sighed after remembering the failed attempt of trying to alert Susan and Lucy to the intruder problem with Dash and Avellana with no success. Pushing this thought aside, he prepared to leave through the cat/dog flap which had been quickly replaced. Susan and Lucy will properly fix it after they return from the Amazon trip. Dash then led the group out of the house through the cat/dog flap and the seven greyhounds and four cats then proceeded to follow Susan and Lucy at a safe distance toward Tulio's Aviary, and the helicopter site.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24- off to the Sanctuary de Amazon**

Later, Tulio and his team were at the helicopter landing pad. A helicopter from Manaus had landed there and the people were ready to board it. Like Lysandre's helicopters, this one resembled an army Boeing-Chinook with a box-like body, two propellers and a cargo bay built into the side. However, the interior had special modifications. There were medical facilities used for caring for severely injured animals. The helicopter was also almost like a flying animal hospital in miniature. As Tulio and his team boarded the copter whose propellers were spinning ready for take-off. As the two massive motor-blades spun, an enormous draft cascaded downward, blowing anything loose, such as hair, about. Dash, Ginger, Veggie, and Thomas, Collette, Daisy, Esperanza, Eduarda, Avellana, James and Danny, together with Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa, while they carefully toward the cargo bay by keeping an eye on Tulio and his team and making sure that none of them turned in their direction, felt this rush of air as they approached the helicopter. The sight of the spinning blades made Travis and his family incredibly nervous and they felt their skin crawl, and the cats and dogs also sensed the same danger. Spinning motor-blades were incredibly lethal and have been known to cut through anything as though it were butter with gruesomely messy consequences, so the five cockatoos instinctively walked toward the cargo bay rather than fly for fear of the spinning blades. But the sight of the spinning motor-blades weren't the only things that sent the group's nerves into a dancing spree. The cats and dogs' nerves danced with nervousness for they had never been to the wild Amazon before but they knew that it was important. Tulio and his team must be alerted of the fraudulent ecologists that were the poachers. As Dash and his group hid amongst the equipment being packed into the cargo bay, they began to discuss among themselves of their plans of action. Then a while later, once all the equipment was packed into the helicopter's bay, the remaining team members climbed aboard and the door was shut. Then off took the helicopter, beginning its journey into the Sanctuary de Amazon.

 **Meanwhile**

Lysandre's poaching group's helicopters flew over the landscape of fields, forests and towns and cities, also on its way towards the Sanctuary de Amazon. In one of the helicopters' cargo bay, Blu, Mercury, Venus, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto and their families still sat in their cages. The chicks were cowering in their parents' wings and some of the adults wore petrified looks on their faces, especially at the sights of the hawkeyed cats, crows, falcons and Nigel the cockatoo. Venus and Mercury were particularly frightened. Their eyes were wide with utter terror and they were trembling all over. The uncomfortable surroundings and the piercing eyes of the cats and crows were enough to bring back a torrential downpour of memories in the minds of these two macaws. Venus and Mercury flinched harshly at the flash of hostility in the eyes of cats, the cage birds the two huddling together in fear and anguish and, most of all, the sight of the evil Nigel when he attacked them. Nigel looked on with a wicked smile on his face, obviously enjoying the sight of the two macaws in a state of panic. In the other cages, Blu and Jewel were bitter, Pluto's eyes were also swamped with timidity and fear while Lapis Lazuli had her wings firmly around Charon, Quincy, Flor and Blueberry, Uranus and his family were huddled together as were Neptune and Ceres and their mates and chicks. Zephyr and Sapphire were trying their best to calm Mercury and Venus who were in a panic attack like state while at the same time calming their chicks. Neither macaw had never seen their mates in such panic before but it was understandable. Both Mercury and Venus had been severely traumatised as chicks, especially by Nigel, and his presence was not helping, especially with the scornful look on his face.

"Venus, just try to calm down," said Zephyr to the distressed pigtailed Spix macaw but Venus was too wracked with terror to hear him. Sapphire also tried calming Mercury by hugging him close to her with Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette.

"It's no good, Zephyr," said Blu, "Venus is too scared. Simply telling her to calm down won't help."

Zephyr, at this, shot him a despairing gaze as the distressed whimpers of his mate filled his ears. In one corner, Carla, Bia, Tiago and Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil were huddled together. Matilda was hugging Tiago, Justin with Carla and Virgil with Bia and Charlotte. Then an idea entered Zephyr's head. He opened his wings and threw them around Venus as she continued trembling and whimpering.

"Please try to calm down," begged Zephyr as Venus continued shaking and whimpering, weeping tears from her eyes, "You're not on your own like last time when you were put through something like this and I can assure you we'll get out of this mess…"

Venus then began to lean against Zephyr's chest feathers and cry, sobbing loudly. Zephyr hugged her tightly and buried his face into her crown feathers.

"Ah, love, it's such a powerful and… stupid thing," crooned Nigel's voice slick with mockery. At this, Zephyr's eyes travelled to the foul cockatoo.

"I can see you have a very strong bond with that useless Spix macaw, pretty bird," crooned Nigel with narrowed eyes. Cazador shot Nigel a glare, making sure that he did not plan on hurting the Spix macaws while the others did nothing, but Cometa was very wary. When Venus saw Nigel glare at her in the most sadistic and scornful way, she hid in Zephyr's wings and whimpered. Mercury also did the same in Sapphire's wings. Behind Zephyr, Virgil took up a defensive stance. His electric blue feathers were puffed out and his blue-green eyes were ablaze with angry storm clouds. The other eight behind Virgil continued to cower.

"Don't you see you're frightening Venus and Mercury?" growled Zephyr protectively, his wings wrapped tightly around Venus. The other caged macaws looked on at the cockatoo, Jewel's gaze especially contaminated with the most corrosive acid of hatred she had ever had.

"It's good to hear about that, pretty bird," said Nigel in a serious tone of voice tinted with the sourness of dislike. It was clear that he loathed the sight of 'pretty bird' couples cuddling each other, especially Spix macaws and he had a hunch that Zephyr and Venus had a bond as strong as an iron bar. A talon then shot out from under Nigel's body, pointing straight toward the centre of Zephyr's forehead as accurately as a laser beam, exactly how a human would point his or her index finger.

"I suggest you release that pigtailed Spix macaw from your wings right now, tacky blue macaw," Nigel growled, his feathers, including those on his head, puffed out, and brown eyes bulging like grapes. Zephyr, at this, creased his face into a defiant and acidic scowl and kept his wings tightly wrapped around the shaking Venus. Sapphire also refused to budge from Mercury.

"I said RELEASE THAT MACAW!" snarled Nigel furiously; lurching forward at Zephyr and making the others jump. Otis looked on and said nothing but Cometa continued watching the disgusting cockatoo as he continued to threaten Zephyr. The nine Spix macaw chicks shrieked with fright.

"Release her, or else," growled Nigel who was stood right up to the bars of the cage.

"Or else what?" Zephyr rhetorically and defiantly replied. In response, Nigel's talon changed its position from a point to a clenched fist, and then the toes sprung out and its claws flared, like the claws on a cat's paw.

"Or else," the cockatoo said threateningly, "I'm gonna brutally scratch you like how Brutus would have done whenever he lost his temper and turned into a mini-beast."

Fear and horror tore through the macaws, especially Blu and Jewel, and Jewel's face actually morphed to one of shock when she heard this threat but even worse, based on the tone of voice Nigel used, she knew he wasn't kidding or simply bluffing.

"He's gone sharply downhill," whispered Neptune to the frightened glaucous macaws and Pluto shuddered at Nigel's mentioning of that infamously violent cat Brutus. He clearly understood what it was like to be on the receiving end of that savage cat's feral temper. It was like being faced with a pyroclastic flow from a volcano, and the memory of facing that violent cat with Lapis Lazuli made Pluto shiver violently, and Lapis Lazuli, Blueberry, Flor, Quincy and Charon also shook like leaves. But to actually hear Nigel mention that he was going to become like Brutus was even more frightening but Pluto daren't imagine it.

"The most disgusting sight I CANNOT stand is pretty bird couples in a loving embrace, especially Spix macaws," snarled Nigel. His eyes then travelled to the nine chicks including Carla, Bia and Tiago, "Not to mention with kids by their side. Now release that pigtailed Spix macaw or I'll carry out my plan to hurt you early."

Venus, at this, looked at Zephyr and said, "Please, just let me go."

Zephyr, however, was reluctant but upon seeing the razor-sharp claws on Nigel's talon poised to come down at him and possibly inflict a serious scratch like how the cockatoo had almost done to Chiquitita, he obeyed and released Venus, and then reluctantly backed away. Venus was then left exposed but when her yellow eyes met with Nigel's bulging brown eyes flooded with untold sadism and scorn, alongside the puffed out feathers and raised crest, the Spix macaw whimpered and covered her head with her wings, crying in fear.

"That's more like it," crooned Nigel evilly. He then put his talon down and glared at Zephyr like a predator.

"Now we'll have no more of that or I will CERTAINLY brutally claw you to death, pretty bird, once we get to the Amazon," he crooned, much to the frightened whimpering of Venus and the horror of the other macaws, especially Justin and his three siblings. Turning to Sapphire, Nigel snarled, "You also release your rotten grey-eyed lovebird from your wings as well."

"Not a chance," replied Sapphire bitterly as Mercury huddled closer to her. At this, Nigel strode over to the Lear's macaws' cage and, like before, raised a talon and flared its claws. He then raised it to bring it down on Sapphire. At this horrifying sight, a frightened cry was released from Mercury's beak and he backed away from Sapphire with the equally frightened and screaming Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette while Sapphire rose her wings to protectively defend herself from the incoming attack when, "LEAVE THEM ALONE, NIGEL!"

At this, the cockatoo stopped the planned attack, turned his head round and eyed the speaker bitterly. Cometa was gazing at him with timid but firm eyes.

"They're valuable macaws," she said, "Please don't hurt them."

"Very well," said Nigel bitterly. He then turned and eyed Zephyr and Sapphire and said, "You two have been warned. If I ever catch you cuddling your beloved lovebirds, I WILL claw you to death… in front of them!"

He shot a talon at Venus and then at Mercury to clarify what he meant by 'them'.

"You do and I'LL SURELY SKIN YA ALIVE, NIGEL!" screeched Zephyr loudly, "I will not, repeat: NOT have you traumatising Venus and Mercury like you did when they were chicks."

"NEITHER SHALL I!" screeched Sapphire bitterly, her feathers, including her long woman's hair like feathers on end. If her crest feathers were as short as Roberto's, Sapphire's head would look like a sea urchin. Venus continued standing there, frightened eyes fixed upon Nigel. Mercury also continued standing there, shivering. Nigel then opened his beak to retort at Sapphire but changed his mind.

"I'll check on you two later, but I cannot wait to see the anguished looks on your beloved mates' faces when I do kill you when we get to the Amazon," said the cockatoo sourly and scornfully, "That's what I would like to see on those two macaws' faces most of all, those two crying over your lacerated bodies. Then the next thing: losin' your kids during the destination group sorting process."

As he walked away, Nigel shot Pluto, Ceres, Uranus and Neptune an equally threatening glare and said, "The same applies to you, you useless pretty birds. As for those two good-for-nothing blue macaws Blu and Jewel, they will only be suffering immense loss when I tear their chicks away from them once we're done with poaching, as I want all FIVE of them to feel my pain over the loss of my flying ability."

"Don't count on it, you fiend," snarled Uranus defensively while Esmeralda looked on and said nothing. Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon were too afraid to say anything. Nigel ignored the great green macaw and continued walking away. As soon as he was out of sight, Venus began to tremble violently again.

"I hope to get out of this cage so that I can brutally claw him," snarled Jewel volcanically.

"If there's anyone who's going to end up covered in brutal claw marks, it's HIM!" shouted Blu, "Mainly by us two."

"Venus, please, calm down," said Zephyr but Venus was too panic stricken to listen. Overcome by worries for her family at the clutches of Nigel and the traumatising memories of what happened when she and Mercury were chicks, the pigtailed Spix macaw finally let her anxiety get the better of her and she collapsed into a heap onto the cage floor in total bits. Zephyr looked on, a strong urge to go over to her and comfort her but because of Nigel's threats, he felt held back. However, he was not going to allow Nigel to pick on Venus like this any longer. Making his decision, Zephyr paced towards Venus but she backed away. Some of the cats looked on and a few laughed. A pulse of disgust tore through Zephyr's heart when he saw the cats laughing at Venus's distress.

"Please, stay away from me," Venus begged timidly, her yellow eyes saturated with immense fear. "If Nigel sees you near me, he'd carry out his threat."

"Look, Venus," snapped Zephyr, not caring about Nigel's sadistic threats, "I don't care about what that cockatoo says…"

"Look, he'll kill you. He meant what he said when he threatened to claw you a minute ago," retorted Venus as she backed away against the cage corner, desperate to distance herself from Zephyr, "And if that happened, your parents and sister will go berserk and would probably blame me, and I'll NEVER forgive myself if that ever happened."

"Mom, Dad and Brisa will NEVER go berserk if I get killed," shouted Zephyr who was getting frustrated by now. Seeing his mate in so much anguish and worry like this was stretching his heart painfully, "Heartbroken, yes but they'll NEVER blame you over something that isn't your fault. But I'm not gonna allow Nigel to put you nor Mercury through what you both went through as chicks again…"

"Then I'll face this alone," said Venus, hoping that it would get Zephyr to change his mind. However, the adamant look never left Zephyr's face. The others watched on as the two argued back and forth.

"You'll face this alone?" snapped Zephyr, repeating Venus's statement in utter disbelief, "No, we'll face this together."

"But…" Venus looked up at her mate but he swept on. "Look, my beloved star flower, you're my mate and we're in this together for better or worse…"

"No," begged Venus, "Remember what I dreamt about…"

"Look, I don't care about that nightmare about Nigel killing me or our chicks," Zephyr added.

"We're not gonna allow that to happen, anyway," put in Sapphire. Mercury said nothing while Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette looked on, fear swarming in their faces.

"But I don't…" began Venus.

"Don't what?" interrupted Zephyr brusquely. He was getting angry by now, "Don't allow me to defend you against that psycho of a cockatoo? What rubbish!"

"No, I…" began Venus again.

"Venus, I will try everything in my power to defend you from that sulfur-crested vulture over there," shouted Zephyr but then Venus erupted.

"I DON'T WANT YOU TO SUFFER AT THE CLUTCHES OF THAT COCKATOO!" she bellowed tearfully, making Zephyr stop. Then Venus began to cry again. "I can't. I can't have Tornado, Gael and Brisa losing their son and brother again like last time when you and Brisa were torn from your parents by smuggler intrusion. Only this time, this might be permanent…"

Venus then sobbed and wept while the other macaws looked on. Zephyr, sympathy replacing irritation, went over to Venus, put his wings around her and lifted her head up. He then locked his beak with hers and passionately kissed her. The nine Spix macaw chicks either winced in revulsion or just looked on.

"Gross," spat Tiago.

"Kissing is soppy stuff," said Matilda. Carla, Bia, Justin, Charlotte and Virgil just said nothing. Then as Zephyr broke the kiss with Venus, he gazed into her eyes.

"Look, we'll get through it," he said comfortingly, "You just have to stand and fight. You're not a chick anymore. What happened when you were a chick is long gone in the past and you have a new family, and that is us, especially me, our chicks, Blu and his family, and the Spix macaw tribe, and everyone else including Jupiter and the others."

Venus, at this, tearfully looked up at Zephyr's eyes and began to cry. She then huddled against Zephyr's chest and sobbed into the feathers, Zephyr returning the hug. Blu and Jewel looked on as did the others.

"Venus," began Mercury but Sapphire hushed him. Around the group, the cats and crows looked on, faces creased with disgust.

"Shall I get Nigel, Otis?" asked Moggy. Otis was about to reply but Cometa stopped him.

"Don't bother," said Cometa, "If those macaws want to snuggle up to one another, then let them go ahead."

"But the sight of those two doing just that is enough to make Nigel puke," said Otis bitterly, eyes flashing at Venus and Zephyr as they remained in their embrace.

"Just do as I say or I'll fetch Cazador," snapped Cometa fiercely, "After all, those macaws are valuable."

Otis, at this, reluctantly obeyed and returned to his post. However, he issued a threat to Zephyr and Venus as they broke their loving embrace.

"I'll let you two off this once but if you are ever found near each other," growled Otis, "I will get Nigel involved."

Zephyr just shot the black and white cat a disdainful glare while Sapphire said, "You stay out of this cat," and hurled a glob of saliva onto the floor in front of Otis much to his disgust. Otis did not do anything and sat back down.

"Can't wait to get to the Amazon so that we can set to our tasks," he murmured to himself bitterly. He hated Nigel seeing exotic birds lovingly embracing each other and wanted to put his mind to other things. However, Zephyr defiantly stood by Venus who was much calmer by now but with the fear still thundering in the background. Mercury was also calmer as Sapphire hugged him. But the two macaws were still on edge. Lapis Lazuli shot Uranus, Esmeralda, Ceres, Cobalto, Neptune, Ultramarine and Pluto a look.

"I hope our escaped friends are right behind us," she whispered. The others wore agreeing looks on their faces.

A few hours later, Tulio and his team had finally arrived in the Sanctuary de Amazon in their helicopter. As soon as they were above the nature reserve, the pilot began to look for a deforested area to land the copter. The pilot carefully manipulated the controls during the descent and carefully touched the highly expensive vehicle down. This done, he switched off the motor blades and Tulio opened the door in the side and jumped out. Right behind him the equipment handlers followed and made a beeline for the cargo bay door. After opening it, they began to unload the bay of the equipment while Tulio and his team, once the others had also hopped off the copter, began to have a preview of their tasks. while the equipment handlers took out the equipment, Dash, Veggie, Ginger, Esperanza, Eduarda, Avellana, James and Danny, and Thomas, Collette and Daisy all hopped one by one off the cargo bay with Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa right behind them, being careful not to get spotted by the equipment handlers. As soon as they were off the bay and in the open Amazon air, the group made a beeline for the cover of the surrounding trees, those that had only been partially or not chopped down by the invading loggers months ago. As soon as all sixteen animals were among the cover of the vegetation, mostly the ferns, they began to discuss their own plans. Collette had nerves dancing in her eyes and sympathy with Broccoli thrown into the mix.

"Broccoli's seriously missing out on all this," she murmured, "I feel sorry for our brother that he's unable to come along with us."

"Well, at least he's done his bit in trying his best in protecting Blu and Jewel's chicks, sis," said Thomas, "But it's a good thing that he's staying behind. Not only for the sake of his injured paw but because of the serious trauma he had suffered at the clutches of that psycho-too Nigel."

When they were kittens, Collette, Daisy, Thomas and Broccoli referred to adult animals as 'Mr (name') and 'Mrs (name)', if the female was paired up with a mate, or Miss (name) if the female was single. But now they were young adult cats, they were free to call other adult animals apart from Veggie and Catina, their parents, just by their names. Esperanza, Eduarda, Avellana, James and Danny also now called adult animals by their names too part from Dash and Ginger who were their parents.

"I agree, son," said Veggie, "Nigel certainly attacked him quite badly and I believe this trip is too much for him, especially with a slightly fractured paw."

He then shot Eduarda a glance and said, "In fact, Eduarda could well have stayed behind as well to allow time for that scratch Nigel had given her to heal but… the claw marks were not too deep for them to require stitching hence her presence with us."

Eduarda shuddered remembering the brown infernos of that psychotic cockatoo's eyes when he clawed her down the side. Glancing at her bandaged scratch, Eduarda said, "I hope Nigel's not gonna become like this infamous Brutus whom Catina once worked for."

"Right," called Dash firmly, "Let's discuss our plans before we veer off on a tangent and waste time. Here's what we're gonna do…"

The others listened to him intently.

"We're going to keep an eye on that spy with the dark brown hair," said Dash, "And then follow him to his group Travis told us about. Once there, we're going to split up and some of us will return to Tulio to try and report to him the fraudulent ecologist and his poaching gang. That way we can directly prove to Tulio and his team that one, that spy is not what he seems and two; the poachers will be caught red-handed."

"I have one question," said Travis.

"Yes, go," said Dash.

"What about the macaw flocks?" asked Travis, "When those poachers arrive, they will be sending out those falcons and some of the crows to hunt down the Spix, Lear's and glaucous macaws and catching them to haul back to the poachers. Should some of us fly out into the jungle to warn them while you cats and dogs keep an eye on the spy and try to report to Tulio and his team that there are poachers afoot?"

"If there are anyone that should fly out to alert the macaws," said Sunset, "It would have to be us because we're the only ones who can fly. AND we have some experience in the jungle as well for we've lived in it for a few months even though we're not suited to it."

"But we'll have to make it fast though," said Travis, "Those poachers could arrive at any moment."

Eustace, Milo and Rosa nodded in agreement. Dash smiled.

"Okay, Travis, Sunset and you three chicks, you go ahead with that while the rest of us set to our ground work," he said. Travis and Sunset nodded and scooped up Eustace, Milo and Rosa for they were too young to fly at high speeds. Then with a few flaps of their wings, Travis and Sunset took off and disappeared into the trees. The greyhounds and cats were left alone to continue their plan discussion. James kept an eye on Tulio and his team, his eyes focussed on the spy.

"Okay, the rest of us," said Dash, the others listening, "Like I've said, we're gonna keep an eye on that spy with the chocolate brown hair," he stole a glance at Tulio and his team who were currently gathered by the copter in one clump, "Those lot will be dispersing and heading off to find the glaucous macaws any moment…"

"Dad, the suspect is moving away from Tulio's group," shouted James. At this, Dash followed his son's gaze and saw the figure with the dark brown hair leave the group.

"Good spot, James," he said, "Come on, you lot, let's put the first part of our plan into action. We'll modify the rest of it based on circumstances."

And with that, Dash led the group and they began sneaking after the dark haired guy, Ernesto. Back with Tulio and his team, Fernando watched Ernesto leave. Before he left, Ernesto had told Tulio that he was going to meet his group from Manaus (a cover up to refer to Lysandre and his group) and that they will be collecting data from some plants in the Sanctuary de Amazon. Tulio fell for it like a fish for a fisherman's hook and believed him and allowed him to leave and do his job.

The rest of Tulio's team also believed Ernesto to be from another ecologist group from Manaus. However, three of them did not believe this and were suspicious. Fernando, Jack and Jill watched Ernesto recede into the distance and considered following him but Linda's voice pulled their attention away from the spy.

"You three," said Linda, "Are you ready?"

At this, Fernando and the twins re-joined Tulio and his team to prepare for their tasks. Some of the embers were putting on harnesses, like those used in abseiling.

"Mom," said Fernando as he stepped into his harness for he was going to help with the glaucous macaw population estimate. "I'm still suspicious about that guy over there."

He nodded to Ernesto in the distance and added, "Apparently, I feel he's not what he seems."

"Oh, Fernando," snapped Linda slightly annoyed, "He's just an ecologist from Manaus wanting to help survey the plant life of the sanctuary, that's all. Now leave him to meet his group. We've got our own jobs to do."

Fernando sighed and finished putting on the rest of his harness. Then Jack had an idea.

"Tulio, sir," said the young man, attracting Tulio's attention.

"I'm going to look for any injured animal with Jill," said Jack, making up an intention to cover up his true intentions, going after Ernesto, "Is that alright?"

Jill nodded in agreement but Tulio shook his head.

"I'm afraid that's a job for the professionals, you two," he said sadly, "You've not got enough experience in the Amazon and there are dangerous animals lurking in every corner and I want everyone in this team to help us estimate the population size of the glaucous macaws. Now come on and get your clipboards and pens."

Jack and Jill sighed and reluctantly left to find their clipboards and pens which they will use to record the data for the glaucous macaw population count.

"Boy, bro," murmured Jill, "I've been feeling like something is not right since that new guy joined us."

"Yeah, me too and so has Fernando, Jill," said Jack as the twin brother and sister walked towards the copter, "I never liked that new guy at all."

"Do you think he might have opposite intentions to conservation?" asked Jack.

"I don't know but that's what I would like to find out hut Tulio would not let us," muttered Jack slightly sourly. Then the two climbed into the copter to look for their clipboards.

While Tulio and his team continued preparing for the walk into the rainforest to look for the glaucous macaws and the Navyfeather Clan of hyacinth macaws, Dash and his group continued following Ernesto as he began to trudge through a strip of vegetation. There was another large deforested area on the other side of this strip and that was where Lysandre and his group were going to land. Dash and his group had to cross the strip in order to follow Ernesto. As the domestic cats and greyhounds took their first steps into the alien world of jungle, their nerves began to cringe. Dash had his eyes fixed on the surroundings. It was obvious that this place was dangerous, especially for cats and dogs bred to live with humans. The group had heard of or had read in books or on the internet about the various hazards of the Amazon jungle, such as frogs that oozed lethal toxins from their skin which were used by the indigenous Amazon human tribes to coat their darts to make them poisonous, snakes with lethal venomous bites or giant anacondas and pythons capable of swallowing a human whole, and jaguars, a member of the cat family with claws capable of inflicting deep wounds with one swipe. However, the dangers did not end there. In the air were birds of prey with massive talons. Jupiter had once told Dash that he had witnessed a harpy eagle, the most dangerous bird in the Amazon; gruesomely disembowel a monkey Ganymede had managed to identify as a howler with a slash of its lethal talons during an outing with some friends from the red macaw tribe during the six month gap between this story and the last. And in the river were fish capable of stripping prey to the bone in just minutes, especially when blood oozed from the prey. Dash had read somewhere that piranha go berserk when the smell of blood enters their nostrils.

Avellana had read all about the predators of the Amazon in a large book on the wildlife of South America at Linda's new bookstore when she was a young puppy and had memorised much of the facts and figures about the Amazonian animals. Though she was not as intelligent as Bia or Ganymede, Avellana was quite knowledgeable about biology, especially ecology.

"Keep together, you lot," said Ginger, "You could get lost in here."

"I don't like the looks of this place," murmured Collette as she nervously darted her eyes at the alien-looking green vegetation. The cluster of vegetation practically reminded Collette of a film called _Avatar_ , a science fiction film about blue aliens called the Na'vi whose home planet included lush jungles.

"Let's just stay focussed on that spy," said Dash. The group obeyed and did so. They continued trudging through the vegetation until they finally emerged on the other side of the strip. The cats and dogs watched Ernesto as he also emerged and walked out into the open space. The open field was littered with fallen logs and tree stumps. Young plants were spouting in the brown dirt and the mud itself was bare, exposed to the elements. The previous space was the same. Dash, Veggie and Ginger all looked around in horror.

"This is the result of logging activity," said Avellana, "As you can see, this was once a clutter of jungle, but now, it's just desolate, treeless land. The land below has been exposed to the weather such as rain."

"It's hard to believe that such human activity as logging could cause destruction as this," said Veggie as he examined the open space. "No wonder the Spix macaw flock's home had to be set up as a nature reserve."

"Exactly," said Dash. His eyes remained fixed on Ernesto as he continued walking on into the open space. Then buzzing sounds, like the sounds of Tulio and his team's helicopter's motor blades, filled the air. At this, Ginger's ears cocked to the direction of the sound and her head looked in the same direction.

"Here come some more helicopters," she said. At this, Dash and his group quickly hurried off to a suitable spot amongst the vegetation bordering the cleared space and his among a patch of ferns. Then the group looked out.

"That'll be that spy's poaching group, I believe," said Veggie.

"Well if that's true then the caged macaws including Blu and Jewel will be present," said Dash.

"Mom would also be present as well," said Collette.

"Well, as soon as they arrive and take out those caged birds," said Thomas, a determined look on his face, "I'm gonna leap in and try and free our feathered friends and show that ugly cockatoo what for!"

"Whoa, Thomas, clam down," scolded Veggie. Thomas did so and shut his mouth.

"You are forgetting that those poachers are armed with those peregrine falcons and crows," said Dash in a low voice, "You remember what happened last time? Some of us could have got seriously hurt."

Avellana shuddered remembering battling against one of those dangerous birds back in Rio but she had stopped ad retreated with Dash and James to find Susan and Lucy before the falcon she had fought could lash at her with its lethal claws.

"That cockatoo Nigel could also be dangerous as well," said Veggie, "Considering what he did to Broccoli, it's likely he'll use his beak again."

"Otis and his gang are also likely to be highly dangerous," said Daisy, "Especially since they're bent on getting revenge on Mom and that we're her offspring."

Dash then called together his group and they huddled together.

"Okay, here's what we're gonna do," said the light grey greyhound. He stole a glance at the buzzing noises' sources, the helicopters as they descended towards the space. "Once those poachers are together, I would like some of us to watch those poachers and the rest of us to go back and fetch one of Tulio's team members…"

Ginger, Veggie, Thomas, Collette, Daisy and Esperanza, Eduarda, James, Danny and Avellana all nodded in understanding as Dash continued discussing his ideas. While the cats and dogs continued discussing their plans, the three helicopters carrying Lysandre and his group finally reached a low altitude and were ready to land. As the three flying vehicles lowered, the drafts from the spinning blades flattened any slivers of green vegetation against the bare brown mud. Ernesto smiled proudly as the three helicopters approached the land, unaware that he had a group of four cats and six greyhounds watching him from the vegetation and planning on interfering with his and his group's plans. Then as soon as the three copters touched down, their spinning blades began to slow as the pilots shut their motors off. After this, the doors in the sides of the copters slid open and out of one of them, Lysandre dropped down. As soon as his feet made contact with the Amazon ground, he strode over to Ernesto and shook his hand, congratulating him for keeping Tulio and his team busy. After this, he commanded some of his underlings to open the cargo bays and take out the cages and net guns, as well as the pets who had been travelling in one of the copter's bay. Dash and his group watched from the vegetation, the former ready to put his plan into action.

"Okay, this is it, team," he commanded, "Are you ready?"

"Yes," said the others in unison.

"Then let's go," said Dash. He nodded to his five grown up puppies and they immediately rushed off to find Tulio and his team, leaving Dash, Ginger, Veggie, Collette, Daisy and Thomas to continue watching the poachers as they unpacked their copters' cargo bay. However, they were unaware that they had internal help from the poachers: Catina and Jupiter, Mars and Saturn and his families.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25- the poachers begin their illegal business**

While Lysandre's underlings continued unloading the cargo bay, two blue and yellow comets darted out of one of them and rocketed off for the trees. Saturn and Orquidea, with Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus in their talons, then disappeared into the trees. They headed off toward one destination in mind, the blue-and-gold macaw tribe for they were one of the nearest tribes to the poachers' location. While Saturn and his family were on their way to the blue-and-gold macaws, the others, Catina, Jupiter, Mars and their families hopped off from the same cargo bay and hid behind a nearby tree stump. Sounds of grunts emitted from the humans alongside Lysandre's barks of orders to them to hurry up as they continued unloading the cargo bays of the copters. Catina's eyes were fixated on one specific copter. Amongst the empty cages and net guns, she caught a glimpse of a few flashes of blue, dark blue, rich yellow-orange and green, indicating the presence of Neptune, Pluto, Blu, Venus, Mercury, Ceres, Uranus and their families. Around the flashes of coloured feathers in the cages, black feathered forms and furred forms of various drab colours such as black, brown, white and grey took up their positions. However, the rest of the black forms, together with six slate grey and ivory forms, stood perched on the arms of some of Lysandre's underlings.

"There's Nigel," said Mars, his screwdriver pointed to a familiar form. Catina followed the point and saw a grey-white form with green and yellow attire around his midsection. Catina could see that Nigel was in his threatening stance. His yellow crest was raised and his eyes were bulging and he appeared to be threatening a specific family of macaws. Catina could not pinpoint which group of macaws it was but she could tell the group definitely weren't Uranus and his family nor Ceres and her family as the flashes of green and yellow-orange were on the opposite side of the clump to Nigel. Based on the dark blue flashes of feathers through the crowd of black feathers of the crows and the drab coloured fur of the cats, and how short the dark blue birds were, it had to be Mercury and his family.

"I don't like the way he's threatening some of our friends," murmured Ruby, worried for the remaining macaws, especially Zephyr and Jewel.

"Mercury and Venus will be two of his bigger targets after Blu and Jewel," said Chiquitita, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre peering out under or behind her, "After all, Nigel loathes the Spix macaw and Mercury was one of his victims that he traumatised as a chick."

"We're gonna have to get those birds out of there and stop those poachers in their tracks," said Mars. Catina shot him a glare.

"That is easier said than done, Mars," she said firmly. "Don't forget that those poachers have falcons with them. If they see you, especially those birds of prey, you're in a cage again."

"That's right," said Jupiter in agreement, "Seriously, Mars, we have no chance against those birds of prey armed with those lethal beaks and claws."

"Furthermore, you could end up seriously hurt," said Chiquitita. She then glared down at the bandage covering her scratch and regretted attacking Nigel for he was a very dangerous cockatoo. Chiquitita had been lucky that time but the next time she ever found herself face to face with the deranged cockatoo, she might not be as lucky.

"What we need is an effective, fool proof plan," said Catina. She then began to think.

"Have you ever done anything like this before, Mrs Catina?" asked Io.

"She may have spent much of her life as a smuggler's cat, Io," said Ruby, "But even experts in stealth have to be very careful."

Mars then glared down at the screwdriver in his talon. Even with this effective tool on hand, he would not be able to pick a padlock fast enough before any of the cats, crows, falcons or Nigel spotted him, and those cats and crows had their eyes on the surroundings like hawks. Mars could only agree with Catina's statement. Rescuing the remaining macaws and stopping the poachers was more complicated than jumping from point A to point B. While Catina and the red macaws began to think of a suitable plan, the poachers continued unloading the copters' cargo bay of their net guns and cages and prepare them, the humans with Cazador, Swoop, Bryony, Aliana, Cometa, Xerosic and the crows to be sent out into the jungle to hunt down and catch some macaws got prepared to release the birds. The faces of five the falcons and crows were creased with excitement with glee but the face of the sixth falcon was not. Cometa was looking around with reluctance and remorse, especially for the remaining caged macaws as Nigel continued threatening them. Her eyes were on Zephyr, Mercury and their families in particular. It was clear that she did not reprimand Nigel and tell him to leave the Spix and Lear's macaws alone based on their value, but because she could not stand the cockatoo picking on and threatening the poor macaws. Suddenly, Cazador's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Is everyone ready?" asked Cazador. All but Cometa nodded in agreement.

"Indeed," said Swoop.

"Can't wait to catch some rare blue macaws," said Aliana gleefully.

"Especially those ultra-rare glaucous macaws," said Bryony.

"We're gonna make a fortune," said Xerosic, his wings rubbed together in a scheming manner. The crows nodded in agreement.

"Now, now, don't get excited," said Cazador trying to keep his group calm, "This is going to be a difficult task, you know. When we catch those macaws, they may viciously fight back like how a fish would in an osprey's talons, so we must get prepared for retaliation from our victims. Now, when we catch those macaws, we are to haul them back right here. We must keep a firm grip on those macaws even if they do fight against us. Is that understood?"

The other four falcons nodded in agreement but Cometa remained reluctant. When a crow elbowed her in the side, she reluctantly nodded to confirm that she had understood Cazador's instructions. While the falcons and the crows with them prepared for action, Nigel gazed at Cazador's group jealously. If his eyes could change colour with his mood, the colour would be green.

"I wish I could fly like they could," he murmured. He then snapped his glance from the falcons to Blu and Jewel. "Those two wretched blue birds are gonna pay dearly for reducing me to this."

"Remember, Nigel," said Otis, "We are not to injure any of the glaucous, the Spix and Lear's macaws."

Nigel shot the black and white cat a bitter glare. He clearly wanted to do just that to Zephyr and Sapphire so that he could severely devastate Mercury and Venus. But Otis glared at Nigel with an adamant look saying, 'I mean it, pal', and then walked away to prepare for the job with the other cats. Nigel stomped a foot on the mud in frustration but then he stopped and thought. A wicked plan began to develop in his head.

'If I cannot injure those beloved mates of Pigtails (Venus) and Grey-eyes (Mercury) directly in front of the poachers and the falcons, maybe I could do it behind their backs and pretend that they had escaped and had brutally scratched themselves in a thorny bush or something?' Nigel's beak creased into a disgusting smile. 'Yeah, I'll do just that'. Nigel then rubbed his tattered wings in a scheming manner as he thought over this.

"If you THINK you're gonna lay a claw on any of us, you ugly vulture, you've got another thing coming," snarled a familiar female voice. At this, Nigel turned round and glared at the speaker who gazed acidly at him with her teal eyes a pair of brown eyes also gazed bitterly at Nigel too. At this, Nigel sauntered towards Blu and Jewel, his feathers and crest raising more and more with every inch covered towards them.

"I'm afraid it won't happen, pretty birds," he crooned nastily, "What is planned is planned. There's no going back now."

From the adjacent cage, Uranus fixed his glare on Jewel. 'I hope she's not gonna spit those vitriolic words all over Nigel this time,' he thought, 'One of these days, that tongue of hers is gonna get her into trouble.'

Jewel certainly did have an acidic tongue, but that would easily spell disaster for this Spix macaw if she did not learn to control it. However, with her and Blu's most detested cockatoo standing before them, all bets were off for Jewel absolutely loathed the cockatoo to the core and was always poised to spit some acidic words at Nigel, regardless of the consequences such as putting herself in danger of getting hurt, much to the chagrin of the other macaws. Nigel's glare then flared into a fiery hateful one.

"Especially when pretty birds are gonna smooch and embrace like a pair of, um, lovebirds," snarled the cockatoo bitterly, "That is one of the things I cannot stand most of all."

At this, a scornful smile crept into Blu's beak.

"Oh, you cannot stand us smooching and that?" he rhetorically retorted, "Well, what about your lovely little froggy girlfriend back in Rio? Doesn't she like smooching all over your face like how we saw her do just that when your 'Bob the bird' identity was revealed?"

Blu let loose a smug laugh when this snide comment stung Nigel like a thousand bees. Blu, not to be denied the pleasure of humiliating his nemesis, then took this as an opportunity to tell this to the cats. Nigel shook with immense rage.

"Don't you DARE!" he snarled but Blu blurted it out anyway.

"Hey, kitty cats," he called, "That cockatoo has a frog who is madly in love with him!"

This sent volcanic rage flaring through Nigel like fire through a cloud of flammable gas when Blu's comment reached the ears of the cats. Then the cockatoo lost his temper entirely and lurched at Blu and Jewel when suddenly, crow talons hooked onto him and stopped him in his tracks.

"Hold it right there, cockatoo," shouted one. Blu and Jewel who were huddled together in fright looked on in shock. Around them, Uranus, Venus, Mercury, Ceres, Pluto and Neptune and their families looked on in horror.

"These Spix macaws are invaluable," said the crow. Its comrades glaring at Nigel with agreeing eyes as they restrained him, "Now control that temper of yours or you'll face the consequences!"

And with that, the group forced Nigel away from the cage holding Blu and Jewel with the others. Sighs of relief emitted from the other macaws as the atmosphere calmed down.

"That was close," said Pluto, Charon, Blueberry, Flor and Quincy cowering behind him.

"I thought he was gonna unleash his rage at Blu and Jewel for a second," shuddered Lapis Lazuli. Then Uranus shot Blu a glare.

"You foolish nitwit," he growled, "You could have been hurt!"

"Well at least his cat friends know his little secret, Uranus," crooned Blu smugly. At this, Uranus shot the cats a glare and saw that their faces were laced with shock. Their mouths hung open and their eyes bulged like grapes. Then Moggy's voice reached his ears.

"A frog has… fallen in love with Nigel!?" she shouted incredulously.

"SHUT UP!" barked Nigel, startling Moggy and making her jerk her body like a frightened lizard. Nigel then glared at Blu with the bitterest and most acidic gaze he had ever made. Uranus and Esmeralda shuddered at the look in Nigel's eyes which clearly read, 'you're gonna pay for this, you filthy blue macaw!' before resuming his task of helping some of the human underlings such as John in preparing the cages. Then the sounds of wing flaps filled the air as Cazador and his gang of falcons and crows were released.

"Now go find those Lear's, Spix and glaucous macaws," commanded Lysandre, "Once you do, catch some of them and haul them back to us. Then we'll send you out for the next catch. You know what to do."

Cazador crowed and commanded his group into following him. Ceres watched the group of falcons and crows as they flew towards the wall of trees and then split up. Cometa was the last to leave for she was weighed down with reluctance and concern for the caged macaws. However, she left with the others. Cobalto deduced the falcons' directions.

"They're heading off in the directions of the Spix and Lear's macaw tribes' territories," he murmured. Ceres just said nothing and continued to watch the falcons recede into the distance with worried eyes.

 **Meanwhile**

Travis and Sunset continued shooting through the trees like rockets. They had been flying this fast for a while now and their wing muscles were beginning to ache. Their lungs were pumping more air in and out of their bodies and their hearts raced ten to the dozen. Travis and Sunset who had Eustace, Milo and Rosa in their talons were puffing and panting but they continued to fly at high speed. They then braked drastically to a hover when they found a stream slice through the blanket of vegetation below them.

"Do you think… we could… be close…" puffed Sunset between breaths. Travis heaved on and out at a fast rate and scanned the surroundings.

"We should… see some… flashes of colour… by now…" he said, "If we do… then we're close (Puff! Pant!)."

"I hope we are close," said Sunset. Then the two cockatoos accelerated on, following the river and hoping that it led to one of the bird tribe or clan's territories.

"I hope we get to the Spix macaws before those falcons find them," wailed Eustace in Travis's talons. Milo and Rosa also cried for their wild friends.

"We will, don't worry, we just have to find them first," said Travis. Then the two cockatoos continued their speedy flight through the forest and following the river.

While Travis and Sunset continued flying through the jungle, Eduarda, Esperanza, James, Danny and Avellana exploded from the vegetation strip dividing the two clearings and had arrived back in the first clearing where Tulio and his team had landed. The moment they found themselves back in the same clearing in which they had landed, the five young adult greyhounds dashed off to find Tulio and his team.

"I hope there are some of his members still behind," cried Avellana as they approached the helicopter.

"We don't have any time to lose," said James, "Those poachers are gonna start poaching macaws any moment."

"I think they are doing now," said Danny. The five greyhounds finally reached the helicopter and began to look around for Tulio and his group. However, to their dismay, there was no-one about at all.

"Oh, NO!" growled Eduarda in frustration as she scanned the surroundings for any signs of Tulio and his team.

"They've all left!" cried Esperanza.

"What are we gonna do now!" cried Danny, "We can't just leave those poachers to carry out their illegal deeds, and we certainly don't want to risk getting lost in that dense clutter of trees and undergrowth in an attempt to find those ecologists."

"There HAS to be someone around here, surely," growled James. Avellana then began to look around until her eyes found the helicopter. Its doors were still open. At this, the hazelnut coloured greyhound turned to her two brothers and two sisters with a hopeful look.

"The copter," she said, "Maybe there is someone in there."

"How?" asked Danny.

"Well, someone has to stay behind to watch over this highly expensive vehicle, little brother," muttered Esperanza with a frown, making Danny flinch indignantly.

"Well, let's check out the inside of the copter and see if there is anyone inside," said Eduarda, "Maybe he or she could contact Tulio and his team."

"If only they could understand us despite the vast chasm between them and us regarding communication via the auditory channel," said Avellana.

"You've been spending too much time having that nose of yours in those ecology books, sis," said James teasingly. Avellana did not reply and jumped into the copter through the door, the other four following. Once inside, the dogs began to scan the interior.

"Whoa, this is just like an aerial ambulance," said Danny in fascination as he scanned the medical facilities, "I wonder if this is what those ecologists use in transporting badly injured animals to a hospital."

"They're on about building one here, actually," said Esperanza, "To save the hassle of transport and its costs."

"Especially this is in the middle of nowhere," said Eduarda. Then James let loose a bark to get the other four greyhounds' attention. There was a pattering of four lots of four feet as the dogs gathered around James.

"There's someone in the cockpit," said James, "It must be the pilot."

Danny saw the vague outline of a human's head through a small window to the cockpit.

"It is," he said, "Let's get his attention and try and lead him to those poachers. That way Tulio and his group will be alerted that way."

Then the five greyhounds readied themselves for the next step of their part of the plan. They knew that it was ridiculous but they had no other choice. Then altogether, the five greyhounds let loose loud howls. They sounded like a pack of wolves howling at night. Their loud howls travelled through the air, through the wall that divided the cockpit from the main compartment and reached the ears of the pilot. The pilot had stayed behind to keep an eye on the helicopter, as Esperanza had said, while the others were out in the jungle carrying out their task. He was having a cup of tea when he heard a startling sound. At this, he flinched, almost spilling some of the tea onto himself and began to look around.

"Que (what)?" he said, for he spoke Spanish. He then stood up and began to examine the surroundings more. Avellana, Eduarda, Esperanza, James and Danny continued howling as loud as they could, despite their throats becoming dry.

"Keep hoping!" cried Esperanza to her younger siblings and the five continued to howl together. Then the pilot bolted out of his cockpit and jumped down from the door, before running to the main compartment and looked inside. To his utmost horror, he saw five greyhounds howling their heads off. Stuck with immense shock and rage, the pilot swore in Spanish. At this, the five greyhounds, seeing that the pilot's attention had been seized by their howling, then began to switch to barking furiously. The five greyhounds ran forward and let loose frantic barking. They had to put frantic body language into their barking to reinforce their message for Dash had told them that body language in any form of communication in dogs was important. In threat posture for example, the baring of the teeth, growling and lower body ducked and hairs raised were all important in telling the threat, 'Back away, or I'll bite you!'

The pilot then climbed into the copter in an attempt to catch the greyhounds but the five greyhounds dodged and jumped out of the other side of the copter. They continued barking and then running off, the pilot angrily shouting at them in Spanish. The five greyhounds then began to lead the pilot in the direction of Lysandre's group.

"It's working!" cried Danny as he and the other four ran and barked. The five greyhounds then entered the vegetation with the pilot in hot pursuit. The pilot charged through the vegetation and continued chasing the greyhounds. The greyhounds were almost there but they did not realise that they had made one serious mistake. The greyhounds' barking must have carried and it had travelled out of the vegetation and to the ears of Lysandre and his group as they readied their net guns. John told them all to be quiet.

"Shh," he called. All talking ceased and the group began to listen. The cats, Nigel and the remaining crows also stopped to listen as did Mercury, Venus, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto, Blu and their families. Catina, Mars and Jupiter and their families also heard the sounds of barks, as did Dash, Veggie, Collette, Ginger, Daisy and Thomas.

"Isn't that…?" began Mars.

"Dash's family!" hissed Catina in horror, finishing Mars's sentence.

"Oh, no," murmured Jupiter with dread, "Don't tell me…"

It was then that loud 'Hey!' exploded from the mouth of one of Lysandre's underlings. At this, serious dread tore through the red macaws and Catina, and also the macaws still yet to be freed and all eyes turned to the direction of the source, including the eyes of Lysandre's group and the remaining pets as five four-legged forms, two light grey and three ginger coloured, emerged from the green wall of vegetation. Esperanza, Eduarda, James, Danny and Avellana continued luring the pilot towards Lysandre and his group, unaware of the pothole they were about to fall into. The pilot exploded from the vegetation behind them.

"Almost there," shouted Esperanza and the five continued barking and yelping, the pilot continuously chasing them. The five dogs then ran towards Lysandre's group in an attempt to get the pilot to see the group of poachers close enough to see their net guns and cages, including the caged birds. That should be enough for the pilot to warn Tulio. Danny barked excitedly.

"Looks like those poachers' cover is about to be blown!" he shouted proudly.

"Yep," said Eduarda, a smug smile gleaming on her face. The other three were about to agree when suddenly, "NET THOSE DOGS!"

Then before the five greyhounds could register that sound, several bangs were heard. Next, several large spider-web like things flew towards the greyhounds and before they had time to see them and react, the nets collided with them and entangled their legs and bodies! Esperanza yelped in shock as she was sent flying from the momentum of the net as it hit her. She then crashed to the floor, tumbling to a stop, with the mesh of the net wrapped tightly around her legs, tail and body. Avellana, James, Danny and Eduarda also cried in surprise as their bodies and legs were also ensnared by the mesh of the nets. From their hiding place, Dash yelped, "NO!"

Ginger was about to rush in to help but Veggie stopped her, knowing what would happen if the poachers spotted her. Ginger, at this, remained in the hiding spot and helplessly watched her first brood offspring writhe in their nets. Esperanza struggled to free her long legs and tail from the tangle of stiff threading of the net. She closed her jaws onto a piece and began to pull, growling fiercely. Eduarda, James, Danny and Avellana did the same but their attempts at tearing at the tough threads were futile. Then the sounds of multiple footsteps and the crunching of fairly dry mud reached the greyhounds ears. Danny and James both looked up and when they saw the shooters of the nets, their heads jerked up in horror, accompanied by a sharp rush of air into their mouths and bulging eyes. Dash, Ginger, Veggie, Collette, Daisy and Thomas as Lysandre's group then surrounded the netted dogs. Behind them, the pilot who had been chasing Esperanza and her four siblings, stopped dead in utter horror when he saw the group of people, many of which were armed with net guns, crowd around the struggling dogs and began to talk amongst themselves. It was an obvious shock to find greyhounds wandering around in such a dangerous wilderness as the Amazon rainforest, and the group was surprised by Esperanza and her four siblings' presence out here.

"Are these greyhounds?" asked one of the women.

"What are they doing out here in the jungle?" asked another woman. The five greyhounds shot the group of poachers a glare and began to growl bitterly as Lysandre began to shoot orders to his underlings.

"Never mind what these animals are or how they ended up here in this place," he growled, "Get some cages and shove them into them and then place them into the cargo bay of one of the copters. We'll take care of them later."

The underlings, among them John and Gale, nodded in agreement and set to picking up the five greyhounds. However, the five young greyhounds growled fiercely and began to snap at the hands of the underlings as they approached them. James lashed at John and almost bit his hands, making John flinch and back away.

"Look, just grab 'em," growled Lysandre impatiently. John tried another time but James snarled and lunged his jaws at his hands again. Danny, Esperanza, Avellana and Eduarda repeated this aggressive and defensive behaviour with the other poachers. This unintentional distraction, however, had bought the other two groups some time for it had also drawn the cats and crows and Nigel, who had been put on guard around the caged birds, away from their posts out of curiosity. While Lysandre and his group were occupied with the five netted greyhounds, Catina and the red macaws began to make their move.

"Alright, Mars, Jupiter, Chiquitita and Ruby," commanded Catina, "You hop in there and save as many of those remaining macaws as you can but be quick for you might not have much time."

The four adult macaws obeyed and rushed in like red comets with blue, teal, green and yellow wings and made a beeline for the caged macaws. Phobos, Deimos, Alexandre, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto stayed behind and watched with nervousness as their parents rushed towards the caged macaws. The moment the four had arrived at their targets; Jupiter and Ruby grabbed Uranus and his family's cage and hauled it away while Mars inserted the screwdriver into Neptune and his family's cage's padlock. Neptune, Ultramarine, Triton and Indigo smiled on as Mars began to pick the padlock with the device as quickly as possible. The others were also surprised by Mars's appearance.

"Mars, how did you-?" began Blu but Mars replied, "I don't have much time, Blu."

While Mars worked away at the padlock, Jupiter and Ruby hauled away Uranus and his family while Chiquitita began to drag Pluto and his family away. However, because she was so small, it was a struggle, so Pluto helped out by charging into the cage bars to help Chiquitita to move the cage faster, Lapis Lazuli hanging on to Charon, Quincy, Flor and Blueberry. Then Catina appeared and latched her claws onto the cage to quickly drag it away back to their hiding place, Jupiter and Ruby not far behind with Uranus and his family in their cage. However, Mars was struggling to unlock the padlock locking Neptune and his family in their cage. Jewel and Blu looked on as did Zephyr, Venus, Mercury, Sapphire, Ceres, Cobalto and their chicks. Mars was clearly under pressure and was struggling to concentrate.

"Hurry, Mars," said Jewel, "That vulture and his comrades will be returning…"

"I'm trying, Jewel," muttered Mars as he fiddled with the padlock with the screwdriver, "But the pressure's affecting my concentration…"

The others looked on in worry. while Mars continued to fiddle with the padlock on Neptune and his family's cage, Dash, Veggie, Collette and Thomas made their move and sneaked in, their eyes firmly on Mars as he continued trying to free Neptune and his family. Ginger and Daisy were left behind in their hiding place. At the same time, Catina had clicked a claw and had inserted it into the padlock holding Uranus and his family in their cage.

"Boy am I glad you've managed to come out here," said Uranus.

"How-?" asked Esmeralda but Catina cut her off.

"It's a long story, you two," said Catina as she continued twiddling her claw in the padlock's keyhole trying to separate the locking piece of the U-part from its mechanism. Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon also watched on, smiles on their faces. Nearby, Jupiter and Ruby kept a firm hold onto Pluto and his family's cage with Chiquitita.

"Man, I'm so glad you lot have managed to come along," said Lapis Lazuli, "Can't wait to get out of this cage."

"You will once Catina has finished with Uranus and his family's cage," said Jupiter, "After this, we're going to fly to Tulio and alert him."

Pluto and the others nodded. While Catina continued attempting to free Uranus and his family behind the tree stump, Lysandre and his group had managed to latch their hands onto Avellana, Esperanza, Eduarda, James and Danny's bodies and had begun to haul them back. The five dogs squirmed fiercely, snarling and snapping at the poachers but they kept a firm hold on their bodies.

"I guess that's enough of this silly business with these five stupid dogs," muttered Lysandre as he helped Gale carry Esperanza, "How they have managed to find their way out here is anybody's guess."

"What are we gonna do to them, boss?" asked Gale, flinching as Esperanza growled fiercely at her.

"We'll see to them later," said Lysandre, "Let's just get them caged first."

Just then, someone's voice sounded, "Hey, boss."

At this, Lysandre turned round. Esperanza followed the head poacher's gaze and yelped in horror. The pilot had been seized and was now being firmly held between two of Lysandre's underlings like a robber by two policemen.

"We've captured this nosey person as well," said one of them, his right arm wrapped tightly around the pilot's left and the other hand grasping the pilot's left hand.

"What shall we do with him?" asked the other underling on the pilot's right, his arms and hands latched onto the pilot's right arm in the same manner. Lysandre paused for a second until finally; an idea came into his head.

"Tie him up and stash him into one of our copters," he said, "We'll see to him later as well."

The pilot glared at Lysandre bitterly. "Tulio is NOT gonna be impressed, mate," he snarled, "You know he will not tolerate poachers in this protected nature reserve."

Lysandre smiled wickedly. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, pal, but we have already sent out our falcons and some of our crows, and our plans are already put in motion," he said in mock sympathy. The pilot struggled in his holders' grasp. Then hot rage flared within him when he saw Ernesto walk towards him to help the two underlings who held him firmly by the arms.

"So, YOU'VE been working with that bunch of crooks and helping them to infiltrate this nature reserve all along?" he growled. Ernesto did not reply and seized the pilot by the arms before helping the two underlings to drag him towards the copters. The pilot struggled fiercely but the three men's grip was iron. While Lysandre's group carried the five greyhounds and the pilot towards the copters, Mars managed to reach the 'click' noise of the padlock when he finally unlocked it with the screwdriver. This done, he immediately chucked the padlock away and opened the door, allowing Neptune and his family to escape.

"Great job, Mars," said Ceres, "Now take those hyacinth macaws out of here and don't worry about us."

At this, Mars froze briefly with reluctance but upon seeing the insistent faces of the Lear's, the Spix and blue-throated macaws, he made his choice. However, before the four hyacinth macaws and green-winged macaw could leave for Catina's hiding place, a piercing scream erupted from Carla, Bia and Tiago's beaks while the others gasped as something leapt at the hyacinth macaws and Mars from behind. Then before Mars could turn around and see who it was, he was knocked and then pinned down by the neck against the floor by a bundle of ragged grey-white feathers in a yellow and green vest! Neptune, Ultramarine, Triton and Indigo were about to take off when suddenly, cat paws and crow talons darted in and latched onto their wings, tails and talons. At this, the four massive birds began to struggle violently. From their hiding place, when Catina had freed Uranus and his family from their cage, a horrified gasp was drawn into Pluto's beak while Lapis Lazuli shrieked. At this, Jupiter, Chiquitita and Ruby's eyes darted towards the site of the caged birds and when they saw that Mars and the hyacinth macaws had been caught, they gasped as horror tore through them. Mars's orange eyes, which were flooded with terror especially at the iron vice of a talon wrapped around his neck, darted this way and that in shock when suddenly, they were pulled towards the face of the sickening cockatoo as he said, "Well, hello… pretty bird."

Near Nigel, the cats and crows had managed to overpower and restrain Neptune, Ultramarine, Indigo and Triton, and all four hyacinth macaws were pinned down by the cats and crows. Neptune saw Nigel taunt Mars and gasped. The other caged birds looked on, unable to help Mars, but Blu and Jewel's feathers were puffed out and an extremely vitriolic look smeared their faces as they gazed at Nigel.

"How nice of you to come back in an attempt to help your little friends escape," crooned Nigel mockingly. He then shot a glance at Zephyr and Sapphire who looked on with Venus and Mercury and their chicks, and then looked back at Mars.

"Especially to see the first climax of my plans about to be put into action," crooned Nigel sadistically.

"Oh, yeah?" Mars rhetorically asked, "And what climax is that?"

An extremely sadistic smile creased into Nigel's beak. It was the most sadistic and devilish smile Mars had ever seen but he had already had a hunch at what Nigel was about to say before he even said it.

"Seein' Pigtails and Grey-eyes over there," said Nigel, referring to Venus and Mercury, "And their chicks scream in extreme anguish when I claw to death their beloved mates/parents, and then watch their hearts break," Nigel's eyes widened with the most sickening sadism Mars had ever seen, "Just like how their hearts broke when I brutally killed their parents when they were chicks."

An extremely sadistic laugh then escaped his beak, sending panicked shivers coursing down Venus and Mercury's spines but a sour look on Zephyr and Sapphire's faces Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil and Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette also whimpered. Behind Nigel, four four-legged mammals, one large light grey canine and the outer three felines, continued carefully approaching Nigel. Dash had his eyes fixed upon the cockatoo as he continued taunting Mars. Ceres, Cobalto, Aurelio, Wilbur and Azul saw Dash, Veggie, Collette and Thomas and kept quiet, before shifting their eyes back towards Nigel. Then Nigel picked Mars up by the neck, his grip on his throat so tight that Mars struggled to breathe. Chiquitita saw this and tried to fly in and save him but Catina latched her paws on her shoulders and restrain her, knowing that if she attempted to jump out and rescue her mate, she'd be caught by the cats and crows.

"As for you, pretty bird," crooned Nigel as he tightly held Mars in the air by the neck, "I'm either gonna cage you or I'm gonna kill you but I can't decide which option to take."

Mars, despite struggling to breathe and the fear Nigel was trying to strike into him, smiled sarcastically. His eyes then got a glimpse of drab colour behind Nigel's back, so he began to stall Nigel for time. Veggie, Collette, Thomas and Dash then hid behind Zephyr, Venus, their chicks, and Carla, Bia and Tiago, and Mercury and his family. When Zephyr saw the four mammals, Dash raised a paw to his mouth to tell him to be quiet and then poised himself to attack.

"You certainly are sick in the head," said Mars with a mock smile, which Nigel took as a compliment. But then Mars's face changed from sarcasm to one of a raging dust storm, like those on his namesake planet.

"But I think you really HAVE crossed the line, you psychotic, bloodthirsty piece of work," snarled the green-winged macaw, "You're no different from Brutus, you know! It seems that you've gone from plain sadistic to outright murderous."

Nigel was about to let loose a scornful reply but Mars swept on. Blu and Jewel looked on with smug smiles on their faces.

"To hear of your idea of tearing Blu and Jewel's family apart and inflicting a traumatic scar on them and their three chicks is disturbing," added Mars, "But what's even MORE disturbing is your idea of putting to death Zephyr and Sapphire in front of their mates and chicks and then watching the latter lot weep over their corpses. That is just plain disgusting. In fact, it makes me sick to the stomach just thinking about it!"

"Good, I'm glad it does," said Nigel with a fiendish grin. Mars then winced in utter revulsion as Nigel then tightened the grip on his neck but he still swept on.

"Honestly, cockatoo, your ideas are beyond diabolical," snarled Mars, his feathers puffed out, "Is it any wonder so many exotic birds despise you and shun you, earning you the reputation as being the most hated cockatoo in Brazil amongst them, because you like torturing exotic birds when they are in their most helpless and distressed state?"

"Well, you've heard in my song, pretty bird," snapped Nigel right into Mars's face, spittle flying into it, "I've told you that I'm extremely malicious, evil and a bird murderer."

He then prepared to throw Mars down onto the floor. However, behind him, Dash had raised a paw.

"And because I am a bird murderer," cackled Nigel, the most diabolical face Mars and the others had ever seen, "I might as well take the option to kill you in front of these disgusting pretty birds, especially Pigtails and Grey-eyes (That is, Venus and Mercury). Show them what is gonna happen to their precious mates shortly!"

And with that, Nigel thrusted Mars forcefully down onto the ground and prepared the claws of his talon. Blu, Jewel, Venus, Zephyr, Mercury, Sapphire, Ceres and Cobalto looked on in horror with the chicks but before Nigel could slash his claws across Mars's abdomen, a greyhound's paw appeared behind the cockatoo's left shoulder and came down on him in a forceful swipe. Nigel cried in utter shock as he was thrown into the clearing by Dash's paw and coming to rest about two metres away after crashing into a tumble. The cats and crows' heads snapped like elastic bands in Nigel's direction when they heard his cries and a tumbling sound. To their surprise, they found the cockatoo lying on his side, stunned. Mars looked up and saw Dash and smiled. With the crows and cats holding Neptune, Ultramarine, Triton and Indigo distracted by the surprised appearance of Dash, the hyacinth macaws took the opportunity to escape by flapping their wings and lashing their talons to free themselves from their captors' grasp. Then the navy blue birds escaped towards Catina and company's hiding spot before any of their captors could get up. While Dash became occupied with protecting Mars with Collette and Thomas beginning to move Blu and Jewel's cage away, Veggie bounded over to Nigel as he got up and flared his claws. When Nigel saw Veggie out his claws poised to come down on him, a mocking smile crept onto his beak.

"Well hello… kitty cat," crooned the cockatoo wickedly, "what are you doin' out here in this dangerous jungle?"

Veggie's paw shifted closer to Nigel's face and hovered above it. Though it was not in Veggie's nature to hurt birds, Nigel's abuse of his feathered friends, as well as the hurting of others such as one of his sons Broccoli and Eduarda, one of Dash and Ginger's daughters, has finally pushed him over the edge.

"You move even an inch or even _think_ about raising a talon to attack me, cockatoo and you'll be having four more claw marks right across your face," hissed Veggie threateningly. His fur was spiked out and his back was raised, as it always did whenever a cat was angry or threatened. Otis and his cat gang and the crows then prepared to jump in and help Nigel but Dash bounded in front of them and blocked their way with a fierce growl. Otis's eyes snapped from Dash to Veggie as he continued threatening Nigel and then back to Dash again, unsure of what to do. Nigel then made an arrogant smirk on his beak.

"Oh, you sure are brave, kitty cat," crooned the cockatoo, getting up and stepping towards Veggie but the tabby cat swiped his claws right across Nigel's face, deliberately having his claws miss Nigel's skin by a centimetre and making the cockatoo jump back and then returning the paw to its original position to tell him he meant it in his threat. Veggie then bared his teeth and hissed through them. For the first time in a very long while, he had taken up a threatening stance towards a bird. Nigel then smiled again and attempted to approach Veggie once more but Veggie hardened his threat stance.

"I'm warning you, Nigel," said the tabby cat, "If you take one more step, this paw is coming down on your face and you'll be having four more nasty and painful scratches on your face."

Still the arrogant look remained on Nigel's face.

"What are you waiting for, Veggie?" called Sapphire, "Scratch him!"

Venus, Zephyr, Mercury, Ceres and Cobalto and the chicks also looked on. Veggie stole a brief glance from them and then looked back at Nigel. He was clearly reluctant to hurt Nigel but after Nigel had not listened to his and Catina's warnings, Veggie had run out of options.

"Why don't you just do what you intend to do, kitty cat?" asked Nigel mockingly, "You know I'm the most disgusting and vilest bird alive…"

Suddenly, panicked cries erupted behind Dash, the caged birds, Otis and his gang and the crows. At this, the group's heads all snapped round and, to their horror, they saw that Collette and Thomas had been caught by some of Lysandre's underlings. One of the men had torn Blu and Jewel out of Collette's grasp and the two cats were struggling. The moment Veggie broke his focus on Nigel and Dash on Otis and the others due to the commotion involving Thomas and Collette and the poachers; Nigel pounced into Veggie and began to viciously attack him while Otis and his cat gang and crows pounced onto Dash. Now it was Dash's turn to struggle under a blanket of attacking cat paws and crow talons, as well as Collette and Thomas's turn to struggle with the poachers as Lysandre began to bark orders to them to get them caged and stashed into one of the copters' cargo bay. From their hiding places, Catina and the others watched in horror, while Ginger and Daisy remained hidden it was obvious that this group would also be overpowered and caught if they tried helping their friends. Then Catina turned to Jupiter.

"You need to go warn Tulio, NOW!" she commanded. Without hesitation, Jupiter opened his wings and took off, with Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto following him, leaving the others to look on as Dash was eventually restrained by the cats and crows and Collette and Thomas restrained by Lysandre's underlings. Then Lysandre walked over to Nigel while he was locked in a vicious struggle with Veggie. Cobalto, Ceres, Mercury, Venus, Blu, Jewel, Zephyr and Sapphire and the chicks all looked on in horror as the cat and cockatoo spun in a blurry barrel roll of grey-white, green, yellow, ginger, brown and dark brown. Fur and feathers flew everywhere and angry cockatoo and cat screeches erupted from the two brawling animals as Nigel's beak connected with Veggie's hair and tore it out while his talons raked over his skin. At the same time, Veggie's teeth were latched onto Nigel's feathers while his claws slashed over Nigel's skin. Then after the two animals came to a stop after a violent tumble, the two animals were brutally beaten up. Veggie was covered in claw marks and bald patches while Nigel's plumage was even more ragged and he had a few cat scratches. Both fighters were breathing rapidly with drops of blood running down their bodies from their claw or bite marks but the two were still poised to fight. Veggie was crouched in a pounce preparation position, his eyes like brown flames fixed on Nigel, who was in an attacking stance with his tattered wings spread out. Nigel's vest was in tatters as some of Veggie's claw swipes seemed to have caught it during the skirmish. Gashes ran across the vest, showing some of Nigel's tattered torso plumage but Nigel did not care about that. All his focus was on battling Veggie perhaps to the death. Both cockatoo and cat then hissed loudly at each other.

"I'd never thought I'd become this violent with a bird before," snarled Veggie fiercely, "But with a sickening bird like you, Nigel, I had no choice but to defend myself."

"Well, that's what you get for messing with the evillest cockatoo in the world then, isn't it?" snapped Nigel bitterly.

"What kind of a cockatoo who goes round abusing exotic birds and threatening to devastate them either by killing one of their friends or family members or tearing apart a family by forcing chicks away from their parents, anyway?" growled Veggie. The caged birds just exchanged glances with each other and said nothing. A wicked grin entered Nigel's beak.

"That's what pretty birds deserve, kitty cat," crooned Nigel wickedly, "But let's not have any more of this waste-of-time palaver. It's time for you to be caged."

At this, a pair of hands appeared and seized Veggie, making the cat screech and claw at the poacher who had seized him but the poacher picked Veggie up off the floor with Nigel looking on smugly and the caged birds on in horror. Then Veggie was carried to another poacher and shoved into an empty cage. Next, Veggie, together with Dash, Thomas and Collette (also in cages) were carried to one of the copters' cargo bay and placed in there with Esperanza, Eduarda, James, Danny and Avellana, and the pilot who were tightly tied up. From their hiding place, Daisy and Ginger looked on as did Catina, Saturn, Mars, Pluto, Neptune and their families in despair. As Veggie was placed into the cargo bay, Esperanza flashed him a horrified look.

"Veggie!" she cried, "Have you been fighting N…"

"Yes," snapped Veggie, knowing whose name Esperanza was going to say before she even said it. Veggie then winced from the pain in the claw marks and ripped out fur Nigel had given him, but he had a look of thunder on his face. However, Dash, Collette and Thomas's faces were laced with disappointment. As soon as the four animals were placed inside the cargo bay and the poachers and Otis and his gang had left, Lysandre gave them one last look.

"We'll see to you lot later," he growled, "But at the moment, we have a job to do but at least you'll cause no further interference."

And with that, he turned round and left, leaving the cats, dogs and the pilot to gaze on.

"Well, that went well," muttered Thomas flatly. The pilot shot the greyhounds and cats a surprised look.

"You lot knew of those poachers' existence all along, didn't you?" he asked. Dash confirmed it in agreement. Then Danny began to cry in despair.

"It's over," he moaned, "We've failed."

"No, we haven't," said Veggie.

"We still have Ginger, Daisy, Catina and the freed birds out there continuing this fight against the poachers," said Dash.

"But what are they going to do, Dad?" asked Esperanza, "They can't rescue the other caged birds due to so many people, crows and cats."

"That's true but some of us have left to warn Tulio, and the macaw flocks, but I just hope the latter are alerted in time, especially Tulio," said Dash. Veggie, Thomas, Collette, Esperanza, James, Danny, Eduarda and Avellana just sighed while the pilot began to figure a way to get himself and the dogs and cats out of this mess.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26- the first macaws from the Sanctuary de Amazon get caught**

Cazador, Bryony, Aliana, Xerosic, Cometa, Swoop and the other crows continued to fly into the Amazon in search of the Lear's, the Spix and the glaucous macaw tribes. At the same time, Travis and his family had entered the Spix macaws' territory while Saturn and his family had managed to find the territory of the blue-and-gold tribe. Back at the starting point, Lysandre and his gang continued searching for any birds or animals that might enter the deforested area. Lysandre's underlings were pacing around the perimeter scanning the bordering trees and vegetation for any flash of movement and colour. However, they were soon to net their first birds for a small group of macaws were flying in their location's direction.

The group of macaws, which consisted of two Spix macaws and a few red macaws were flying through the trees. The two Spix macaws were a blue male with the unmistakable set of head feathers and a cerulean female with a blue-white head similar to Zephyr while the red macaws were a green-eyed male scarlet macaw, three fledgling scarlet macaw chicks and a green-winged macaw. Roberto, Brisa and Felipe were on an outing with Felipe and Pearl's three chicks, and one of Felipe's inner circle birds, a male green-winged macaw named Enrique. Pearl was back in the red macaw tribe to keep an eye on things while Felipe took their chicks out for an outing with Roberto and Brisa with Enrique to help and keep an eye on the chicks. Pearl and Felipe's three chicks, named Benjamin, Regina and Alfonso were around six months old. They hatched a few weeks after the fire and were now young chicks. The three chicks all looked alike but their appearances will diverge as they grew older. Like all scarlet macaws, their feathers were mostly red and their wings had blue wing flight feathers and yellow contours between the blue and red. Their tails were blue with red tips. Benjamin had green eyes like his father while Alfonso had blue eyes like his mother but darker. Regina's eyes were teal, similar to Jewel's eyes. Felipe's green eyes flashed with pride and joy at the three chicks as they flew alongside Enrique.

"Boy, I'm so glad to have become a father at last," he said, Roberto and Brisa smiling as they watched the chicks playfully chase each other, "Soon, those three will be truly showing our inherited features."

"Zephyr and Venus's chicks all looked alike before their appearances started diverging," said Brisa, "So did Blu and Jewel's chicks."

"I wonder how Blu and the others are doing in Rio," said Roberto in wonder.

"Have you ever thought having chicks yet, Roberto?" asked Enrique, briefly stealing glances at the three chicks as they flew around the four adults.

"Yes but when I find a mate," said Roberto, "But when I do, I think some of my chicks would likely inherit my head feathers and singing voice."

"I wouldn't be surprised," said Felipe with a cheeky smile, "But if your sons look like you, I'd probably never tell who's who."

The group tittered at Felipe's cracking sense of humour and his speaking in rhymes. Then Felipe shouted, "Oi, Regina, join our group please! We don't want you getting lost."

At this, the teal-eyed chick, Regina obeyed and returned to Enrique's side. Soon, the trees cleared and the surroundings opened into a clearing as the group entered a deforested area. As soon as they did, the group perched onto a tree to rest. Regina, Benjamin and Alfonso joined Felipe's side and Felipe wrapped his wings around them. Roberto smiled at the three chicks. Because he and Felipe were now best friends, formerly bitter enemies, Benjamin, Regina and Alfonso were like nephews and a niece to him and the three chicks treated Roberto like an uncle like how Carla, Bia and Tiago, and Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil did. Brisa then gazed into the distant sky. Dark clouds seemed to loom.

"Looks like rain again," she said, "I hope any humans out here are prepared for it."

"Yeah, we'd better not be out here for too long," said Roberto, his wing slung around Brisa. Then Enrique gazed out into the opening.

"This is where those pesky loggers had been," he said, "It's horrifying to believe that their activities could cause this much damage to our jungle home. No wonder the Azul Oscuro hyacinth Clan had been decimated when loggers came and destroyed their trees."

"At least our home is now safe from logging and poaching now," said Roberto, "Thanks to Blu."

The others nodded in agreement. Then Benjamin looked down at the ground in the clearing.

"Hey, Dad," he squeaked, "There are some humans about."

At this, Felipe, Roberto, Brisa and Enrique followed his gaze and saw several white and pale blue forms walking around in the clearing. There were also three large things standing in the clearing which Roberto remembered Blu telling him were called helicopters.

"I think those humans are ecologists," said Brisa, "Nothing to worry about."

"Wait, they're armed," said Roberto. He felt a little uneasy when he saw the stick things in the hands of the humans, but he felt sure that they had the stick things, which were net guns, for a good reason. After all, the humans that came to the nature reserve were well-meaning. "They must be looking for any animal that may be injured or something, to take back and treat."

Then Benjamin, Regina and Alfonso took off from Felipe's side and fluttered away into the clearing, giggling like most young chicks.

"Kids, don't go too far," called Felipe to his two sons and daughter. The three chicks nodded and began to playfully chase each other. Then Brisa said, "I wonder how Blu and the others are doing in Rio? I hope they are having a good time with our old cat and dog friends and meeting our other old friends like Nico and Pedro…"

"You told me that Ginger is now the mate of your friends' greyhound friend," said Roberto with a happy smile. His smile then faded a little. "I always remember her each night. I'm so grateful to her for allowing me to escape that nightmarish treatment of that little girl…"

He then shuddered as the memories of 'Polly wanna cracker? Polly wanna cracker?' repeated in his mind and the images of cream crackers being forced down his throat, among other horrible things. Roberto then gazed at the ring on his right leg which he often kept tucked away in his upper leg feathers to hide his history as a captive bird. It was the only souvenir he had left of his time under the ownership of that cruel girl but it always made him shiver and trigger a flood of memories to boil in his mind whenever he looked at it. Enrique continued watching Felipe's chicks as they continued flying around in the clearing air.

"We've got to get that thing off," said Felipe with sympathy as he looked at the ring on Roberto's ankle. The ring was chipped and damaged, the result of years of Roberto's futile attempts of trying to get it off his ankle.

"But I've tried everything," muttered Roberto, "Gnawing at it, using a rock to break it off my ankle…"

"Maybe we could take you to our human friends," said Brisa, "They'll have something to remove that ring from your leg."

Roberto shot her a timid glare. He never liked being handled by human hands but seeing no other option of getting rid of the last bit of his time in captivity and abuse from the human girl, he nodded in agreement.

"We'll take you to a group of them when we get time," said Felipe. Roberto flashed him a grateful glance. Then Brisa turned and watched Benjamin, Regina and Alfonso as they continued flying about.

"I assume you were excited at seeing your chicks fly for the first time, were you, Felipe?" she asked.

"I certainly was," said Felipe proudly, "Seein' them paintin' the sky; it sure is exciting to see them fly."

"Seeing Jupiter and Ruby's chicks Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto fly for the first time was just as exciting, the same with the other chicks," said Brisa. "They'll be meeting their new cousins by the time they return from Rio once summer ends."

Felipe, Roberto and Enrique nodded in agreement. Meanwhile, Felipe and Pearl's three chicks continued chasing each other playfully in the air, being careful not to lose sight of the four adults.

"I'm gonna get you, sis," crooned Benjamin mischievously as he chased Regina around the branches. Regina giggled cheekily and continued flying ahead of her brother. Alfonso was also chasing his sister determine to catch her. The three chicks were not far from the group of humans as they continued examining the trees. However, the three chicks were completely unaware that they were about to fly close to a trap. As the three young scarlet macaws continued flying around directly above two of the humans dressed in outdoor scientist clothing and carrying net guns, one of the humans looked upward and saw three small red birds darting about in the trees.

"John!" she called. At this, her companion, John, whipped around and saw the three red chicks.

"Yeah, we're gonna give Ruby and Jupiter a big surprise," said Felipe, "I can't wait to see the thrilled look in their eyes."

"They're now an aunt and an uncle to two nephews and a niece," said Brisa.

"They certainly are," said Roberto. Enrique did not say anything for his eyes were busily focussed on Felipe's three chicks when suddenly, horror tore through him. Then a bang exploded and reached the ears of the other three, making them jump and jerk their heads in the direction of the sound's source. A split second later, Enrique's wings were spread out and he was off the perch in three seconds flat. When Felipe, Roberto and Brisa saw Enrique fly off in the direction of the chicks, they also took off after him but nothing could prepare them for what they heard next. When Felipe heard the sounds of the chicks screaming, horror exploded within him.

"BENJAMIN, REGINA, ALFONSO!" he screeched loudly and accelerated on by beating his wings harder. Roberto and Brisa also flapped harder when they sensed dread regarding Felipe's chicks. But as Felipe's eyes landed on the three chicks on the ground with netting around them, several bangs were heard.

"LOOK OUT!" Enrique blurted out. At this, Roberto and Brisa shot their glances this way and that and before they even knew it, a spider-web like net suddenly came in and entangled them! The two Spix macaws cried in shock as they were caught together in a single net. As Roberto and Brisa fell out of the air, another net flew in and caught Enrique, leaving Felipe who continued flying towards his netted chicks. As he touched down by his two sons and daughter who wore frightened looks on their faces, Felipe only had seconds to register what was going on when suddenly, something jumped in and pounced onto him. Felipe cried in shock as he was then pinned down against the black soil with something on his head. When he looked up, he found himself gazing into the eyes of a feline animal never found out here in the Amazon. It was definitely a feline but it was too small to be a margay. Its fur was black and white and its eyes were brown. The creature had pounced onto Felipe with his paw on the red macaw's head.

"Hah, gotcha, red macaw," crooned the creature named Otis. Felipe, at this, shuddered. Then he heard another human voice speak.

"Well done, you two, especially you, John," it said, "Now let's get these birds caged. What a stroke of luck that some of the macaws had flown to where we are."

Then a horrible thought crossed Felipe's mind but then he found himself picked up by the neck by Otis and carried away. Then the next thing, the seven birds found themselves being shoved into cages. Brisa was tossed into one cage followed by Roberto while Enrique and the three chicks were thrown into another cage. Brisa and Roberto wore confused looks on their faces as their cage door was then slammed shut and padlocked.

"What in the world!?" growled Brisa but when her lime green eyes landed on some familiar creatures her feathers bristled in disgust. Roberto also followed her gaze. He was very frightened and his crest feathers were spiked out all over the place. It was then that the two Spix macaws were met with a scornful feline face.

"Bad move, you two," crooned the face which belonged to Tom, one of the cats, "Looks like you and your red friends are the first to be captured."

When these words were absorbed by Brisa's brain, horror and dread tore through her explosively.

"WHAT!?" she shouted, "What did you mean we're the first to be captured?"

But then Brisa felt recognition creep into her and the moment it did, her look of shock and horror morphed to one of rage. Roberto's face remained in its frightened expression.

"Wait, are you-!?" shouted Brisa furiously but before Tom could scornfully reply, there was commotion erupting from behind the cat.

"Adriana, get a hold of that scarlet macaw!" shouted a cat's voice. At this, Brisa turned and saw a pile of cats and crows trying to restrain a certain scarlet macaw but the macaw was viciously fighting back, his green eyes ablaze like firestorms.

"You are NOT caging me, you rotten furballs!" snarled Felipe and with that, he jumped up and kicked Paws in the face. Paws was sent flying into one of Lysandre's underlings' stomach as the underling ran in to help, knocking the human down. Felipe then wing-slapped two more cats including Adriana, and a few crows and head-butted another but the cats and crows continued pouncing in. Two more cats and a crow stood with an empty cage ready for when Felipe was caught.

"Felipe!" cried Roberto. Felipe continued fighting off the cats and crows when suddenly, a pair of human hands appeared and wrapped around his body, scooping him off the ground. Another of Lysandre's underlings had grabbed him.

"Now cage it," shouted Lysandre from the background. Nigel looked on, ready to dive in. The underling then tried to shove Felipe into the cage held by the two cats and the crow but the enraged scarlet macaw was not going to allow this without a fight. With an enraged squawk, Felipe flapped madly and sank his beak in to the underling's hands, making the underling scream in agony and release the scarlet macaw. Then Felipe began to viciously apply his talons and beak full force. Screams of agony exploded from the underling's mouth as Felipe's talons and beak mercilessly sank into or raked over his skin. Cats and crows tried to help by jumping at Felipe but they were either knocked back by a flapping wing or struck by the underling's head as he flailed helplessly to get Felipe off his back. From another cage, Enrique, Regina, Benjamin and Alfonso looked on in horror as they were placed next to Roberto and Brisa.

"Dad!" cried the chicks together. Felipe continued clawing the underling until suddenly, three black streaks darted in and knocked Felipe off the underling's back. Felipe cried in shock as he was then flung to the ground and pinned by the neck by a black talon. Felipe then struggled to force the crows off his but then a fourth bird, an ugly grey-white cockatoo came in and forcefully clamped his talon around Felipe's neck so tightly that he cut off his breathing. Brisa got a glimpse of the grey-white bird with the pale yellow crest.

"Don't tell me that's who I think it is," she growled. Roberto, Enrique, Benjamin, Regina and Alfonso were too frightened to speak and continued looking on as the cockatoo then began to taunt Felipe.

"Hello, pretty bird," crooned the cockatoo named Nigel sadistically as he watched Felipe struggle for breath. Felipe winced in revulsion as Nigel's saliva dripped disgustingly onto his face and a whiff of his foul breath entered his nostrils. Then Lysandre came in with a cage.

"Now cage it," he commanded. Nigel smiled and in an instant, Felipe was picked up off the ground by the cockatoo and thrusted hard into the cage. Then two cats came in and padlocked it. As Felipe collapsed onto the cage floor, forcing in breaths after being strangled by Nigel as the two cats placed him by Brisa and Roberto, Brisa shot confused glances at the humans, the cats, crows and the cockatoo.

"Well done, my underlings," said Lysandre, "We have caught our first few macaws including two Spix macaws. Now let's place them next to our other caught birds."

"Other caught birds?" asked Roberto timidly. Brisa was too clouded by confusion to register what Lysandre meant. These people were supposed to be ecologists or animal doctors looking for injured animals. Instead, they are poaching them!? Then the two Spix macaws were tossed aside as their cage was lifted off the ground by one of Lysandre's underlings. Not too far away, Blu, Venus, Mercury and Ceres and their families all looked around.

"What was that noise?" asked Ceres.

"Sounded like some of the poachers struggling with something," said Zephyr. However, the others felt dread wash over them, especially Blu and Jewel. In their hiding place behind the tree stump, Catina, Mars, Uranus, Pluto, Neptune and their families had also heard the commotion. Mars had managed to escape being caged with Neptune, Ultramarine, Triton and Indigo the moment Dash had pulled the focus of Otis and his group and the crows away from them, buying them time to escape.

"What's happening?" asked Pluto suspiciously, all eyes of the group gazing at the group of poachers as they walked towards the helicopters where Blu's group was. Catina then noticed something in three cages carried by some of the underlings of Lysandre. At this, she tried to get a better glimpse of the flashes of colour in those cages. When she saw that the flashes of colour were red macaws in two of the cages and a pair of blue macaws in the other cage, Catina drew in a horrified gasp.

"They've already caught some of the macaws!" she cried. Neptune, Ultramarine, Mars, Chiquitita, Uranus, Esmeralda, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli then gazed at the birds in the cages and realised that three of them were familiar. The moment Chiquitita recognised the scarlet macaw on his own in a separate cage; she opened her wings and was about to take off but a cat paw appeared and grabbed her tail.

"Don't go flying toward the caged birds," commanded Catina and with that, she pulled Chiquitita back behind the tree stump, "You'd end up captured."

"B-b-but it's Felipe," cried Chiquitita, "He's been caught, and so have Roberto and Brisa!"

"Felipe?" asked Catina confused.

"He's the leader of the red macaw tribe," explained Mars, "And Roberto is from the Spix macaw tribe and the one Ginger told us about was abused by that human girl before she helped him escape."

Mars then stole a glance at the newly caged birds as they were placed among Blu's group and gazed back at Catina. "Looks like he, Roberto and Brisa and some friends of his were going on an outing but ended up getting caught by the poachers."

Catina frowned. "Then we need to rescue them and our other caged feathered friends as well," she said, "And also free Dash and the others, but the question is, how?"

Mars, Chiquitita, Uranus, Esmeralda, Neptune, Ultramarine, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli looked on as the calico then began to think of a plan. The chicks also looked on, worried for their friends.

Back with Blu's group, Blu, Jewel, Zephyr, Venus, Sapphire, Mercury, Ceres and Cobalto and the chicks with them gazed in horror as Roberto and Brisa, Felipe, and Enrique, Benjamin, Regina and Alfonso were placed by them in their cages.

"Felipe!?" shouted Jewel incredulously.

"Brisa, Roberto!" shouted Zephyr. Venus, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil and Carla, Bia and Tiago looked on in horror. Then Brisa shot Zephyr, Blu, Jewel and the others a shocked glare.

"Blu, Jewel, Zephyr bro…?" she began in aghast, "What-!?"

Felipe, however, had an enraged look.

"You oughta tell us what is going on, you lot!" he growled, "What are you lot doing in cages for one, and why have we been captured the way poachers catch birds for another?"

"I thought our homes were protected from logging and poaching!" put in Enrique, occasionally shooting Felipe's three chicks a glance, "Why have we got poachers afoot!?"

"I'm sorry, we d-d-didn't expect a group of humans to be p-p-planning to do something like this when we went to Rio," stammered Blu obviously frightened by the green flames in Felipe's eyes, "You see…"

"We see what?" snapped Felipe bitterly, cutting Blu off. Blu, at this, found himself hitting a brick wall when his tongue stuck in his mouth and his brain refused to formulate a proper answer. Blu did not work well under pressure and was prone to panicking. Seeing Blu struggle, Ceres spoke on his behalf.

"It's a long and complicated story," she said. Felipe was about to snap when suddenly, an oily voice crooned, cutting him off.

"To answer your question, pretty bird," crooned the voice's owner, Nigel as he and several taunting-faced cats sauntered towards Felipe, Brisa and Roberto, and Enrique who had his wings protectively around the frightened Benjamin, Regina and Alfonso, "These poachers have come up with an ingenious plan to get by the barrier preventing poachers and loggers from entering the Sanctuary de Amazon to poach pretty birds like you lot, and that is by disguising as ecologists and tricking the real ecologists into thinking they are just another group of bird studiers who want to help them in the Sanctuary de Amazon."

"Pretty nifty idea, eh," crooned Otis. The other cats laughed. Close by, Ginger and Daisy, who had also heard and seen the poachers manage to capture Roberto, Brisa, Felipe, Enrique and the three chicks, stood at a safe distance and watched as Nigel and the cats taunted the newly caught birds. Felipe then tipped his head to one side in confusion at the terminology.

"So, can someone give a simplified explanation of what this gross cockatoo means, please?" he asked, turning to Venus, Mercury, Blu, Jewel and Ceres.

"Nigel is saying that these poachers have found a way to get into the Sanctuary de Amazon and that is by pretending to be ecologists," said Ceres. At this, Roberto and Brisa flinched in disgust.

"Are you meaning to say that this group of humans are actually poachers pretending to be conservationists?" asked Brisa in utter flabbergast.

"Exactly, Brisa," said Ceres. Brisa then looked this way and that before gazing back at the female blue-throated macaw.

"But I thought that poaching had stopped in this area," she growled, "Then why have we got these pesky animal thieves prowling around like other poachers before our home was set up as a sanctuary?"

Roberto, who was beginning to experience a cascade of bad memories of his capture by poachers and smuggling to Rio then began to show signs of panic come over him.

"Well, however these poachers have managed to find a way to intrude into this protected nature reserve," said Enrique, "I hope the real ecologists are alerted so that these phony ecologists are caught before they capture any more macaws or other animals."

"I'm afraid it won't happen, red macaw," crooned Nigel wickedly, "Those real bird ecologists believe that Lysandre's group are a another group of ecologists that have come here to help out, so there is no way they are gonna be caught."

And with that, he let loose a snicker. The cats did the same. Roberto then began to shake. His breathing and heartbeat increased dramatically, and his blue eyes began to dart this way and that as though he wanted to escape. His crest feathers were also spiked out all over the place. Then Felipe shot Nigel a fiery glare.

"Get away from us this minute, you foul crested parrot or whatever you are," growled the scarlet macaw bitterly, his feathers spiked out and his body poised to attack, "Or I'll give you a right clawin'."

Nigel boldly stepped up to Felipe despite the latter's defensive pose and shoved his beak up to the scarlet macaw's thunderous face, not caring about the risk he was facing.

"I'm afraid it won't happen until you're with a cruel owner, pretty bird," cooed Nigel spitefully. Suddenly, Felipe jumped up and raked his talons across Nigel's face, releasing an enraged squawk in the process. Nigel was thrown to one side onto the floor, his tattered wing clasped on his head as cats surrounded Felipe and tried to restrain him but the enraged scarlet macaw was not having any of it.

"When I get outa here, you loathsome bunch of pests," snarled the scarlet macaw as he began to madly flap and flail in his cage like a fish out of water, lashing his talons at any cat paw that entered the cage, "I'm gonna CLAW YOU LIKE PIECES OF FRUIT!"

Felipe then lurched forward and slammed into the cage door, making the cats closest to him jump back.

"These wild birds sure are gonna be hard to handle," said Moggy as she was frightened by Felipe's temper. While the cats continued attempting to restrain Felipe with some crows coming to help, Otis, Tom and Adriana inspected Nigel who had his wing on his face. Nigel then looked up and removed his wing, exposing a fresh set of claw marks on his face. As before blood oozed out of the streaks left by Felipe's claws. However, Nigel was unfazed by the scratch across the face, but his face certainly was becoming riddled with claw marks. The sets inflicted on him by Jewel, Chiquitita and a while later, Jupiter had healed up but now they were opened up in places. As Nigel stood up, he was met with the scornful looks from Blu and Jewel who smiled at the state of his face but an extremely enraged Brisa and a frightened Roberto.

"You certainly are getting a nice facelift from those scratches, vulture face," crooned Jewel nastily, "One of these days, you're gonna be called Scarface."

"I think 'Cocks 'Scarface' Cockatoo' would be a better name for him, don't you think," crooned Blu spitefully. Then the couple laughed scornfully while Ceres shot them an irritated glare. She obviously found Blu and Jewel's constant mockery of Nigel annoying. Nigel then shot his two nemeses a hateful look.

"Just wait until we get to the sorting stage, you two pretty birds," he growled, "Then we'll see who's humiliated and who's laughing now."

"Don't count on it, vulture face," snapped Jewel bitterly. Ignoring her, Nigel turned to Zephyr, Venus, Sapphire and Mercury and their chicks with a sadistic, menacing look on his face, especially towards the terrified Mercury and Venus.

"As for you two," he crooned to them, "I can't wait to see the looks on your faces when I carry out my plans on your beloved mates."

"If you're think of harming any of those valuable Spix and Lear's macaws, Nigel," said Otis firmly, "You've got another thing coming. Remember what Cazador said…"

Nigel, at this, snapped his glance from Mercury and Venus toward the black and white cat, his eyes ablaze with anger.

"I don't care WHAT that falcon says, cat," he snarled. While he talked with Otis, Ginger and Daisy picked up a large leaf and a stone they had found in their hiding place. Ginger then placed the stone into the leaf and prepared to twirl it above her head like a slingshot.

"I am definitely gonna kill that pigtailed Spix macaw and grey-eyed Lear's macaw's mates right in front of them," bellowed Nigel furiously, towering over Otis with his crest raised, "I wanna see them DEVASTATED, exactly like how I devastated them by killing their parents and siblings when they were chicks!"

Otis murmured timidly as he fell over onto his back as he backed away from him. It was obviously that he knew that Nigel had lost his mind, completely. The other cats and crows looked on warily in case Nigel lost his temper. Then Ginger twirled the leaf containing the stone above her head twice and then flung the stone in the direction of Nigel and the cats with all her might. Ginger had intended the stone to be a diversion so that Daisy could rush out and snaffle one of the cages, and not hit one of the cats, crows or Nigel but instead, it went flying towards Nigel like a light grey comet and clouted him on the head! The cockatoo released a squawk of painful surprise and fell onto his back, making the cats and crows flinch and wonder what had happened. Ginger flinched with a gasp when she watched this but Daisy got poised to leap into action anyway. However, Catina's group had also been watching and when they saw what had happened to Nigel, Catina immediately sent in Neptune to retrieve one of the cages. The moment all the cats and crows' attention was pulled away from the caged birds as they ran over to inspect Nigel as he lay on the floor with his wings on his head where the stone had hit, Neptune darted in like a navy blue rocket with large wings. He made a beeline for Ceres and her family and within seconds wrapped his talons around the bars of his cage. He then rocketed off back towards Catina's hiding place with Ceres and her family in tow. Daisy and Ginger then rushed out of their hiding place and made a beeline for Catina's hiding place. On the way, Daisy was about to snatch Blu and Jewel's cage but then noticed the cats and crows begin to look up. Not wanting to get caught, she followed Ginger and disappeared behind the tree stump. As Nigel stood up, his wing on a new injury: a bump on the head where the stone had hit, Otis began to look around.

"Where on earth did that come from?" he asked. He then shrugged it off and turned back to Nigel. The caged birds also looked around.

"What was that?" asked Brisa.

"And where are Ceres and her family?" asked Blu when he noticed that the blue-throated macaws were missing. However, he had already deduced that they had been snatched by someone from Catina's group. Jewel, Mercury, Sapphire and Venus, Roberto, Felipe, Enrique and all the chicks just said nothing. Then as soon as Nigel was up on his feet, he and the cats and crows returned to guard duty. Behind the tree stump, Mars had unlocked the padlock with his screwdriver and had freed Ceres and her family. Cobalto was particularly glad to be out of that cage, as were Aurelio, Wilbur and Azul. Catina was sharing a brief reunion hug with Ginger and Daisy.

"Boy, I've been looking forward to this," Cobalto said, "Glad to be out of that piece of junk."

"What do you want us to do, Catina?" asked Ceres. Catina broke the hug with Ginger and Daisy and turned to her.

"I want you to try and locate Dash and the others and free them," she said, "But we can't at the moment due to so many of that lead poacher's underlings standing around the copter in which they have been placed. Also, we're gonna need a plan to free those caged birds and attack those poachers before any more macaws or animals get caged and caught."

She then gazed at the trees and said, "I hope Jupiter and his family will have reached Tulio and his team by now."

Then Catina gathered the group together and they began to discuss another plan of rescue.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27- Travis and his family warn Eduardo**

 **Meanwhile**

Tulio and his team continued trekking through the forest in the direction of the glaucous macaw tribe and the Navyfeather hyacinth Clan's territory. As the group continued walking through the vegetation, stepping over logs, rocks and seedling plants, Tulio kept his eyes on the above canopy. He watched the canopy like a hawk for any flash of turquoise and grey, occasionally stopping to listen. Behind Tulio, some of the team members were talking. Jack, Jill and Fernando walked alongside Susan, Lucy and Linda. Linda may be pregnant with her and Tulio's first baby and Fernando's adoptive sibling but she continued to help her husband in his important conservation work. Though Fernando was looking forward to seeing his adoptive sibling's birth, his face was laced with concern, and Jack and Jill's faces were no different.

"Did you feel something fishy about that man at Tulio's Aviary before we came here?" asked Jack in a low voice, being careful of where he planted his feet with every step.

"I really wanted to go after that guy when he left us to meet someone else," said Fernando in a whisper, "But Dad (that is, Tulio) wouldn't let me."

Jill then glanced behind with a frown.

"Ever since that guy joined us claiming to be an ornithologist with a qualification in bird ecology, I've never felt right about him at all," she said.

"Look, you three, let's just focus on finding that flock of glaucous macaws," said Linda firmly. Fernando, Jack and Jill obeyed and continued walking on. Close behind Tulio, some of the men carried the tree climbing equipment while the rest carried clipboards and paper ready to note down the data the group will collect from the glaucous macaw flock. However, none of them were aware that the man Jack, Jill and Fernando were suspicious about, Ernesto, was in progress with poaching macaws with his group led by Lysandre. Furthermore, the group was being watched. Jupiter, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto had managed to find Tulio and his team after a while of searching in the undergrowth. Once or twice the scarlet macaws almost lost each other in the process but now, they were prepared to alert Tulio and his team. As the six scarlet macaws watched Tulio and his group pace through the undergrowth in search of the glaucous macaws, Ruby murmured and scratched her head with a wing tip.

"Are you sure this is gonna work, Jupiter?" she asked uncertainly. Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto kept silent but wore agreeing faces. Jupiter's face, however, had a different expression.

"We have no choice," he said, "Those poachers have already started their search for the rare macaws in this place and will have got down to poaching them by now. Let's go."

And with that, the large vermillion scarlet macaw opened his wings and prepared to fly out toward Tulio and his team. Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto also prepared themselves. The humans continued stepping through the undergrowth when Tulio stopped the group with a hand gesture. The others behind him stopped and then Tulio turned round, raised a finger to his lips, telling them to be quiet, and then pointed to a tall tree. At this, all eyes followed the point's direction until they landed on a small cluster of soft teal and grey gathered under a large covering of green leaves. It is some of the glaucous macaws, the flock of birds Tulio and his team were looking for. Tulio smiled at the fact that he and his team were now close to the glaucous macaws' living space and waved to his group to continue.

"We're getting closer to the heart of the glaucous macaws' habitat," he said to the others, "Not far to go now."

Linda, Susan, Lucy and some of the others also smiled but Fernando, Jack and Jill looked nervous. They were not nervous about seeing the glaucous macaws again, but they were nervous for something entirely different.

"Are you three ready with your clipboards?" asked Susan firmly. The teenaged boys and girl nodded, snapping out of their uncertain stares.

"We are," said Fernando, producing a slab of red plastic with a metal clip and a piece of paper on its top. Jack and Jill did the same but Jack's was blue and Jill's was light green.

"We're nearly at the heart of the glaucous macaws' home now," said Lucy. Fernando, Jack and Jill nodded and continued walking with the group. In the tree, the group of glaucous macaws looked down at Tulio and his team and smiled before resuming their conversation. Two or three glaucous macaw chicks played nearby. However, Tulio and his team were about to be met by another species of macaw. As Tulio continued leading his team through the undergrowth in the direction of the central home of the glaucous macaws' habitat, a loud squawk was heard. This stopped Tulio and his team in their tracks.

"Did you hear that?" asked one of Tulio's equipment handlers.

"Yes," said Tulio, "But that's definitely not from a glaucous macaw."

"Maybe it's another species of macaw that lives in this part of the Sanctuary de Amazon?" asked Linda. Tulio then began to look around when suddenly, a vermillion red form with a pair of brown eyes and a black and white beak surrounded by a mask of white skin appeared and perched on a branch low enough so that its beak was level with Tulio's nose. Tulio, at first, did not react but when his brain registered what was in front of him, he yelped and jumped back, startled. The others behind him also gasped and stopped as Tulio managed to regain his balance. Then five more scarlet macaws, an adult female and four chicks, touched down beside the first one, a large vermillion male and perched on either side of him. Susan and Lucy immediately recognised the male macaw.

"Why, it's our former pet scarlet macaw, Jupiter," said Susan.

"What is he doing here with his family?" asked Lucy. Tulio then glared at Jupiter, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto for a bit before moving his face away, one project in mind overruling the importance of Jupiter and his family's presence.

"Well, it's nice to see those scarlet macaws again but we have more important things to do," he told the others behind him. Gazing back to Jupiter and his mate and chicks, Tulio said firmly, "Now why don't you six return to your newfound friends? I'm sorry to cut you off but we have an important task to complete…"

Jupiter, at this, opened his wings and took off. He then flapped around the group's heads, squawking frantically. The group, at this, covered their heads as Jupiter then began to pull on Linda's hair. Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto joined in and began to tug at either some of the equipment carried by the equipment handlers or the hair of some of the other humans. Ruby had taken hold of Tulio's hair and had begun to gently pull on it while Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto went from one human to another, pulling on their hair or the equipment, chirping and squawking frantically. Groans, shouts and mutters of annoyance and frustration then uttered from Tulio and his group as they began to try and drive Jupiter and his family away. It was obvious that the six scarlet macaws were trying to drag them back to the direction of Tulio and his group's copter but Tulio was not having any of it. He and his team had an important project to focus on but they did not realise an even bigger and more important reason why Jupiter and his family had come to them. Linda continued shaking her head in an attempt to shake Jupiter off but Jupiter only took hold of her hair again and gently pulled on it.

"Get off my hair, you naughty scarlet macaw," snarled Linda and with that, she yanked her red hair out of Jupiter's beak and swiped her hands at him in an attempt to drive him away.

"Get outa here, go on!" she bellowed. Jupiter dodged each hand swipe and continued squawking frantically. He added gestures with his talons and wings in an attempt to communicate with Linda but Linda still thought that he was being silly. Nearby, more human hands swiped at Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto as well. A woman swiped at Io and Europa, shouting, "Get outa here, get out!" as the two chicks tried pulling on her hair and chirping. Three more men tried driving off Ganymede and Callisto but they also continued diving in and pulling on their hair. Tulio was also trying to drive Ruby away.

"Look, we don't have time for this fun and games, red macaws," shouted the leader as he grabbed Ruby and heaved her away, "We've got work to do!"

Ruby returned and tried squawking to him but Tulio grabbed her again and heaved her away a second time. Amidst the commotion, Jack, Jill and Fernando watched Jupiter's gestures and squawks.

"I think this scarlet macaw and his family's trying to alert us to something, Tulio," called Jack. Tulio did not hear Jack and continued trying to shove Ruby away while the others tried driving away Jupiter and the chicks. Then Susan intervened. As soon as she stood before Jupiter, she glared at him with a very angry look on her face. Jupiter stopped and hovered before her. This was the same look he had received from Susan every time he had done something naughty or had been in a dangerous situation when he and the others had lived under her care in the UK.

"Now listen up, Jupiter," barked Susan in a rebuking voice, her hands on her hips and her face twisted into a rebuking scowl, which she also used to tell him or another pet off if they had done something naughty, the hands on her hips to emphasize her message, "We have a very big important task to do and we're NOT gonna tolerate this nonsense any further."

Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto returned to Jupiter's sides as more annoyed eyes from Tulio's team then pierced them. Around the group, several animals had gathered to watch having been attracted by the noise of the commotion. Monkeys and small birds had gathered around in curiosity. However, a few turquoise birds with grey heads and yellow facial markings had also gathered.

"What on earth was that about?" asked one, a young male. Two of the macaws replied with a shrug as if to say, 'we don't know'. Jupiter then tried to communicate with Susan about the poachers by using gestures. He pretended to be a cat and even managed to imitate a loud meow noise of one, before switching to pretending to be a falcon, letting loose a falcon squawk while Ruby posed as a poacher using a vine to bind Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto to simulate the poachers catching birds. Susan looked on in a confused frown while Fernando, Jack and Jill watched as they made out Jupiter and his family's gestures. However, the rest of the group was not going to tolerate Jupiter and his family's presence any longer. Tulio stormed up to the scarlet macaw family and eyed them with a furious look on his face. Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto immediately dived behind Ruby and Jupiter stopped his gestures the moment he was met by the thunderous look on Tulio's face. Tulio then began to communicate with them with an angry squawk. Jupiter and Ruby looked on in confusion as did Susan, Lucy, Jack, Jill, Fernando, Linda and the others.

"Do you have any idea of what he is saying, Jupiter?" asked Ruby perplexed. Jupiter did not reply and continued watching Tulio as he squawked at them and gestured to them to go away. Then after releasing a finishing screech at Jupiter and his family, Tulio returned to the front of the group.

"What was that supposed to be, Dad?" asked Fernando as Tulio stepped by.

"It's an angry squawk parrots make when they want you to leave them alone," replied Tulio, "I just did that to Jupiter and his family to tell them to go away."

"'Go away'?" asked Ganymede perplexed.

"He just sounded like a bird that made no sense whatsoever," said Callisto. Linda was also perplexed. This was the same technique when Tulio attempted to communicate with Blu moments after first meeting him but Blu had no idea of what he was saying. Then Tulio commanded the group to follow him and the group left, leaving Jupiter to look on with a disappointed sigh. Jack and Jill shot a glance back at Jupiter and his family but one of the men, Francisco, came in and tugged them each by the arm, making Jack and Jill obey and leave with the other humans, leaving the scarlet macaw family to gaze after them.

"That went well," said Europa flatly.

"They just assumed us to be nothing more than mischievous birds," said Io.

"Now what are we gonna do?" asked Ruby. Jupiter then shot her a determined look.

"Well if they won't listen to our warnings about those smugglers," he said, "Then we'll have to find another way to make them."

Jupiter then stole a glance at a brief flash of turquoise through the trees. "But rather than stand here lamenting on our failed attempts to alert Tulio and his team, let's warn the glaucous macaws and Flavio's clan of the danger of the poachers while we're here. Let's go."

And with that, Jupiter, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto all opened their wings and took off into the trees in the direction of the glaucous macaw tribe's home patch.

 **Meanwhile**

The falcons continued flying through the Amazon rainforest in search of the target flocks. Bryony and Xerosic, two of them, had chosen to search for the Spix macaw tribe. The two falcons were flying high over the trees, having decided to search from above rather than at the level of the canopy or the treetops. Xerosic had discussed this with Bryony and told her how it would give them a better bird's eye view of the habitat and pick out any Spix macaws, to which Bryony thought was an excellent idea. As the two falcons flew along, Xerosic scanned the green sea of trees with his keen eyes for any spots of blue.

"Remember, Bryony," he said as he continued scanning the trees below, "We will only be able to catch up to two Spix macaws each and two, they might fight back so make sure you aren't tempted to hurt any of them."

"Roger, Xerosic," said Bryony as she began to search the green canvas below. She wore an uncertain look on her face.

"Are you sure this is where those Spix macaws live?" she asked, "I have a feeling we may be flying in the wrong direction."

Xerosic was about to answer when his eyes picked out some specks of pale blue flying over the green canvas of trees.

"Looks like we may have found some, Bryony," he replied, "Come on, let's prepare to swoop down on them and capture some of them."

And with that, he banked to his left and descended, Bryony following. As the two peregrine falcons then planned their position of attack, the blue spots, which were indeed a group of Spix macaws, were flying through the trees. Among the group were Roxie, the Spix tribe's Pit of Doom scoremarker, Maximillian and his daughter Turquesa, and Nuvem with his girlfriend and an in-training tribe nurse macaw, Cassia. The group was on an outing and Maximillian wanted to join them after a hard day of helping the green macaw tribe's patrollers on their daily update of the border to the flying fox colony's territory, and also take his daughter Turquesa out.

"So how are things with the green macaws, Max?" asked Roxie as she flew alongside a male macaw named Zenon. Zenon was Roxie's boyfriend and the two had been dating for about two months now.

"Oh, the green macaws are just fine, Roxie," said Maximillian with a smile, Turquesa flying beside him, "Alonso has told me that his tribe and the Lear's macaws are now getting along very well."

"That is very good news after their feud before the most recent fire," said Nuvem.

"Furthermore," said Maximillian, "No flying fox activity to report, which is excellent. Looks like Cicatriz and his colony are keeping within their boundaries and not planning to intrude into our home areas."

"Well, that's good, I hope it stays that way," said Cassia firmly, "If there are any bats behaving suspiciously close to the border of the Sanctuary de Amazon, we would like to be kept informed."

Maximillian nodded in agreement.

"I wonder how and his family and friends are doing in Rio," squeaked Turqeusa as she flew alongside her father, "I would love to visit that city someday when I'm old enough."

"We'll see," said Maximillian firmly, "At the moment, you're too young."

Turquesa sighed. She was a very inquisitive macaw and wanted to explore the world outside the Sanctuary de Amazon. Then Maximillian called to the leader of the small group at the front, "Where are we, Santos?"

"We're approaching a river, Max," replied Santos. Then soon, the group of Spix macaws emerged from the canopy and were over a stretch of glistening silver flowing below. The macaws then flew over the river and began to look for a place to rest and have a chat. However, they were unaware that they were about to be attacked. As the group of macaws flew parallel to the wall of trees above the water, Xerosic and Bryony hovered directly above them. The two had picked out their target macaws and were ready to make the pounce.

"Right, Bryony, here goes," said Xerosic, "Head directly to your chosen macaw and grab it."

"Roger, Xerosic," said Bryony and with that, she got prepared to attack. The group of Spix macaws continued searching for a suitable spot to perch. Turquesa flew alongside Maximillian, keeping close to him at all times. As inquisitive as she was, she daren't stray too far from the adults and end up getting lost. At the back of the group, Nuvem and Cassia flew with Roxie and Zenon. The four were talking about trivial things as adult macaws sometimes did. Turquesa did not listen to the chat of the four macaws behind her and her father and just continued flying on. Then soon, Santos led the group to a large tree and the group perched there. Maximillian then examined the surroundings and noted that they were on the border of the Spix macaws' territory and that of the Navyfeather Clan and glaucous macaws. Smiling, he turned to the other macaws in the group while Turquesa flew off to explore some plants.

"Don't go too far, daughter," called Maximillian as Turquesa then began to examine a butterfly, before turning to face Roxie and Zenon to talk with them. As he did, Turquesa continued fluttering after the butterfly as it flitted through the air, coming to rest on a bromeliad flower. This butterfly had metallic blue wings fading to charcoal black along the edges. Sprinkled at regular intervals of the black areas were flecks, white on the forewings and red on the hindwings. Turquesa smiled with intrigue. She remembered Bia and Ganymede telling her that this butterfly species was called a 'Blue Morpho'. 'Blue Morpho', thought Turquesa, 'That would be a wonderful name for a chick when I grow up and have kids of my own'. As she continued gazing at the iridescent blue shine on the Morpho butterfly's wings, the butterfly batted its wings and flitted off into the green canopy in search of its favourite flowers. Turquesa looked on with a smile. However, she was unaware that something was heading for the group. As Turquesa continued gazing after the Morpho butterfly, her father chatting with the other adult macaws and Santos examining the surroundings, a slate grey and ivory arrow headed directly towards her. A small bird, a motmot with a yellow front and orange back like the Coin Toss Bird in the Pit of Doom, landed on a nearby perch and chirped, but then it bolted, making Turquesa flinch and wonder why it had fled so abruptly. Then suddenly, her name exploded from the beak of one of the adult macaws, "TURQUESA!"

At this, the turquoise chick looked up and before she even knew it, a grey and ivory blur flew in, making her jump violently. Turquesa let loose an ear piercing scream as the slate grey and ivory form, a peregrine falcon with its talons outstretched in an attempt to grab her. However, the falcon missed by inches as Turquesa dodged. The falcon then crashed into the perch as Turquesa tried to fly away towards the adult macaws but then a yellow blur swept in and grabbed her. At this, Maximillian's wings shot out into the air and he took off. Turquesa continued squirming in the falcon's talon as the falcon, a female with a sneering look on her face, glared at her.

"Hah, bad move, little chick," cackled Bryony to the squirming Turquesa in her talon, "Now you're gonna be taken away and caged."

Suddenly, a cerulean blur flew in and tackled Bryony in the side, making the falcon release Turquesa. Turquesa flew toward Nuvem who swept her up in his talons as Bryony the falcon shook her head in shock. Then Maximillian jumped on her back and began to fiercely attack her, his paternal instinct to protect his daughter having flared up.

"Are you okay, Turquesa?" asked Nuvem to the whimpering chick. Turquesa, who wept and shed tears of fright, nodded when suddenly, someone shouted, "Look OUT!"

At this, the group, especially Roxie and Zenon turned in time to see another grey and ivory bird swoop in. at this, the Spix macaws dodged but the falcon, named Xerosic, managed to catch Roxie and Zenon by the necks in his talons.

"Gotcha!" he shouted nastily as he glared at the two Spix macaws in his talons, "Now to haul you back to our owners to be caged."

Roxie and Zenon writhed in his talons but Xerosic kept a firm grip. Then suddenly, several blue comets dived in and began attacking Xerosic. In his shock, the falcon released Zenon and Roxie and they joined in the attack, while Bryony struggled with Maximillian. During the skirmish, Nuvem took Turquesa to a safe place amongst a cluster of green leaves. He then turned back and watched his friends attack the falcons in an attempt to drive them away.

"What sort of birds are those, Mr Nuvem?" asked Turquesa. Nuvem managed to get a glimpse of Bryony as Maximillian continued beating and clawing her. However, he could not identify what sort of species the falcon was. These two birds were not any falcon Nuvem had ever seen but he knew that these two had to be driven away. Turning to Turquesa with a firm glare, Nuvem commanded, "Stay here, Turquesa."

And with that, he opened his wings and threw himself into the fight, leaving Turquesa to hides among the cluster of leaves to watch the skirmish. Bryony continued lashing her talons to grab Maximillian but he dodged and retaliated with claw swipes of his own. Maximillian's eyes were raging caramel fires and his talons were swiping at Bryony with aggressive force each time she tried to approach. Bryony yelped as one of Maximillian's claw swipes caught her torso, opening a small scratch. Nearby, Xerosic was submerged under a cerulean cloud of Spix macaws as they also threw claw swipes at him.

"Xerosic," shouted Bryony as she continued dodging Maximillian's swipes, "What shall I do?"

"Grab it," yelled Xerosic as he dodged a claw swipe thrown at his face by Cassia. Then another Spix macaw jumped onto his back and began to throttle him. Santos had pounced onto Xerosic from behind and had wrapped his wings around the falcon's neck while the others continued lashing their talons at him. Xerosic then began to bolt and writhe in an attempt to get Santos off his back but could not. From her hiding spot, Turquesa continued watching, caramel eyes full of terror. Then one of the adult macaws flew over to her, breathing heavily.

"Mr Nuvem!" shouted Turquesa. Nuvem shot her a look while breathing in and out from exhaustion. His feathers were on end and he had a few scratches dotting his plumage.

"Nuvem," shouted Santos from the fighting cloud of blue and grey, "Get Turquesa to safety and report to Eduardo at once about this!"

Suddenly, Maximillian's shouts ripped through the air.

"Let me go, you pesky birdbrain! Someone HELP MEEEE!"

At this, all the heads of the blue macaws shot in the direction and to their horror, Bryony was flying off with Maximillian in tow, held by the neck. With their focus briefly broken by this distraction, Xerosic lashed a talon at two more Spix macaws, Roxie and one of the other macaws, and grabbed them by the necks before flying off after Bryony. Roxie and the other macaw shouted and screeched help top the others as they were carried away, prompting the others apart from Nuvem and Turquesa to fly after Xerosic. Zenon flew the fastest and had managed to latch his beak onto Xerosic's wing. However, Xerosic jerked to one side and shook Zenon off, but not before crying out in pain as Zenon's beak tore out one of his flight feathers. Zenon was sent careening into a cluster of leaves and the others also found themselves losing Xerosic and Bryony.

"Don't worry about us!" cried Roxie as she and the other macaw were carried away by Xerosic, "Just go and alert Eduardo at ONCE!"

Santos immediately halted the other macaws, breathing heavily as they watched the two falcons receive into the distance. Zenon then emerged from his crash site with a grey feather in his beak as Nuvem flew in with Turquesa. Turquesa then wailed for her father but the two falcons had already disappeared from view.

"Just what sort of falcons were those two?" asked Cassia.

"They weren't any of the species of falcon I've seen before," said another macaw, a female.

"Never mind about what sort of birds those two were," said Nuvem, "Let's get outa here and find Eduardo at once."

And with that, the group took off from the area and rocketed away in the direction of the Spix macaw tribe's ravine, Zenon taking the feather with him.

Later, at the Spix/blue-and-gold macaw territory boundary, Eduardo was talking with three of the other clan or tribe leaders, Soleado from the blue-and-gold macaws, Demetrio from the Bluewing Clan of hyacinth macaws and Alonso from the green macaw tribe. Around them, cerulean and blue flashes of some of the Spix macaws and the aqua blue and yellow flashes of the blue-and-gold macaws decorated the trees.

"So, an update on the daily reports on any flying fox activity at the outer border to the colony's territory, Soleado," said Eduardo.

"Nothing to report," said the blue-and-gold macaw patriarch, "We did get a few glimpses of some of the bats from the colony in the distance but they appeared to be up to their usual activities."

"That's good," said Eduardo, "As long as they remain in their area, then that's brilliant."

"We'll keep you informed as time goes by," said Demetrio. Eduardo smiled at the assuring news. Then suddenly, commotion began to emanate through the air hanging over the Spix macaws' side. At this, the four leaders turned and saw some of the blue birds gather.

"What's going on?" asked Alonso. Eduardo was about to answer when one of the Spix macaws flew over.

"Eduardo," she said, perching before her patriarch, "There are two odd parrots with crests here. One of them is white with a yellow crest and the other is pale pink with red and yellow bands in its crest. They also have three chicks in their talons."

At this, Demetrio frowned and cocked his head to one side.

"A white parrot with a yellow crest and a…?" he began confused. However, Eduardo and Alonso immediately knew who the Spix macaw was talking about.

"Why, they sound like…" began Alonso.

"Travis and Sunset," said Eduardo, finishing Alonso's sentence. Demetrio and Soleado then looked through the air of the Spix macaws' space and saw a white and a pink form fly in the four tribe or clan leaders' direction. They were indeed Travis and Sunset and they had Eustace, Milo and Rosa in their talons.

"Excuse me, is Eduardo here?" asked Travis to a group of Spix macaws. Two of them pointed in Eduardo's direction.

"Thank you," said Sunset and with that, the cockatoo couple made a beeline for Eduardo, Demetrio, Soleado and Alonso. The four patriarchs blinked in surprise as Travis and Sunset approached them and then perched before them.

"Travis and Sunset," said Eduardo in surprise as the two cockatoos began to gasp to catch their breath back.

"You both look like you've been in a hurry," said Demetrio.

"What are you doing here?" asked Alonso, "I thought you were back in Rio with the others including Esmeralda and her family."

Travis and Sunset continued to pant until finally, Travis found something to say.

"That's true, Alonso but we've come here to bring you a warning," said Travis. At this, the four tribe and clan patriarchs exchanged glances.

"A warning?" asked Eduardo.

"Yes," said Sunset, "There's a group of poachers afoot in the Sanctuary de Amazon and they've sent falcons and some crows out to catch you macaws. You Spix macaws, the Lear's macaws and the glaucous macaws are their primary targets…"

This was met by shock from the patriarchs.

"Excuse me?" asked Demetrio.

"Poachers?" asked Soleado.

"But this is a protected reserve now," said Eduardo, "Blu's two human friends had set up our homes as a sanctuary. There can't be any poachers about."

"But this group of poachers have managed to find a way to infiltrate the sanctuary to steal macaws," said Travis, "They've disguised themselves as ecologists and have sent falcons out to catch you macaws…"

He blinked in stress when he saw Eduardo smile as though he was kidding. That same look was written on Soleado, Alonso and Demetrio's faces as well.

"A group of poachers catching us with falcons?" asked Soleado with a smile, "How can we possibly be threatened by such nonsense?"

"Sounds like a fabricated story," said Demetrio.

"I-i-it's not fabricated," insisted Sunset, "This group of poachers is afoot in this sanctuary. We have seen them with our own eyes and have heard their plans. You have to believe us."

Eustace, Milo and Rosa backed their parents up with nods.

"They have already caught some of our friends including Mr Blu, Mrs Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago," said Eustace. At this, Eduardo reacted in horror but the other three patriarchs remained unconvinced.

"But, there are surely no poachers, Travis," said Demetrio firmly, "All the humans we have seen in our territory have been well-meaning humans since Blu's two human friends had set up our home as a sanctuary. There's no…"

Suddenly, some more commotion sounded in the air, drawing the attention of the surrounding Spix and blue-and-gold macaws toward the source. The four tribe and clan leaders and Travis and his family also turned in the direction of the focal point of the attention.

"Now what?" asked Travis with a frown. It was then that a group of blue rockets zoomed into view. The Spix macaw at the front, Nuvem as he carried Turquesa in his talons, looked this way and that until his eyes landed on Eduardo with Demetrio, Soleado and Alonso. At this, he shot off for the four, the others including Cassia and Santos behind him. The macaws in this group clearly looked frightened and they were clearly propelled by panic.

"Eduardo!" called Nuvem. Eduardo looked on in surprise as the group of Spix macaws landed clumsily before him and the other three leaders. Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa walked in; balancing as the Spix macaws shook the branch by landing on it so hard. Then the Spix macaws began to breathe heavily due to flying so fast, Zenon appearing last. He must have been left behind during the rush for he was not a very fast flyer.

"What's happened?" asked Eduardo, the others looking on in wonder. Then as soon as the group had calmed down, they began to tell Eduardo about what they saw. However, because all the macaws in the group were trying to explain what had happened at the same time, all they produced was a confusing cacophony of tangled words, rendering their receivers unable to understand what they were talking about. Then Demetrio took action.

"SILENCE!" he barked at the top of his voice, shocking Nuvem's group into shutting up. The bark was so loud that it echoed throughout the trees. Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa had all flinched from the shock of the word exploding through them. Demetrio certainly did have a booming voice. He always used it to call for attention of his clan members when they were arguing or to break up a fight without using physical means. As soon as Nuvem's group had stopped their confusing babble, Demetrio put his wings on his hips and frowned.

"Right, one at a time please," he said in a calmer voice, "What happened?"

"We've been attacked by two falcons," said Nuvem, trying to contain the shock from the incident that had occurred earlier, "We tried fighting back but they managed to escape with Maximillian, Roxie and Elena."

At this, the four tribe patriarchs all jerked their heads up in horror. Alonso then saw that Nuvem and his group were covered in a few minor scratches and cuts, evidence that they had been in a skirmish.

"We have no idea of what sort of species those falcons were but they weren't of a species we had seen before," said Cassia. Spix and blue-and-gold macaws gathered around to listen.

"Neither do we have any idea of why they are here," said another macaw. At this, Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa stepped in as Zenon produced a feather and gave it to Eduardo.

"I managed to tear a feather out of one of those falcons' wings," he said, "while trying to rescue Roxie and Elena."

Eduardo then began to examine it, Demetrio, Alonso and Soleado looking at it as he turned it in his wing.

"That feather looks like it's from a harpy eagle's wing," said Demetrio.

"Only the wings of harpy eagles are much, much longer," said Alonso.

"Let's have a look at it," said Travis. At this, Eduardo gave it to him. Travis took it and examined it. However, he knew what species of bird this feather belonged to.

"It's from a peregrine falcon," he said. This was met by confusion from the surrounding macaws.

"A what?" asked Soleado.

"A peregrine falcon," said Sunset, "It's a species that is not normally native to the Amazon rainforest. They're capable of reaching speeds of well over 300 kilometres per hour in a single dive and they usually hunt in areas where there is plenty of space."

"This group of poachers has six of these falcons and they've been sent out to catch you macaws to haul back and cage," added Travis. He shot Nuvem and his group a look. "Looks like those macaws have been attacked by two of them."

At this, the cockatoos were met with a dreaded silence. Then Demetrio broke it.

"I think it's time we returned to our respective tribes and clans to warn the others, Eduardo," said the Bluewing hyacinth Clan patriarch, "If this attack Nuvem and his group had experienced is connected to Travis's story…"

"Right, thanks, Demetrio," said Eduardo. Turning to Travis, he said, "I'll warn the others in my tribe and I'll round them up to initiate a rescue plan on Blu and the others. Thanks for letting us know."

And with that, he opened his large wings and took off.

"I'd better go warn Valentino and Rosalind as well," said Alonso, "The Lear's tribe are rare birds so they'll be targeted by these poachers as well."

And with that, he took off and headed in the direction of the Lear's tribe's territory. Soleado also left to warn the blue-and-gold macaws. Demetrio also left to warn the Bluewings and the blue-throated macaws but before leaving, he told Travis and his family, "You also go and warn Felipe's tribe as well."

"Okay, we will," said Travis and with that, Demetrio was out of sight.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28- the news of the poachers spreads and the madness of Nigel**

At this moment, two more of the falcons, Cometa and Swoop, had managed to find the Lear's tribe's home patch and had managed to capture three of the Lear's macaws. However, Cometa's efforts had been half-hearted. While Swoop had made off with two of the Lear's macaws in his talons, Cometa had deliberately released her caught victim and had told him about the poachers including how she and her five comrades had been sent by them to find the rare macaws in order to catch them to haul back. The released macaw, horrified, had returned to the Lear's macaws' ravine and had told Valentino and Rosalind. The tribe leaders, upon hearing about the poachers and that Sapphire and Mercury may have been caught, had immediately set to rounding up a large group of macaws to help rescue Mercury and his family and friends and to face the poachers. Meanwhile, Cometa had left to warn the green macaw tribe, hoping that they would take action as well. While the Lear's macaws prepared for action in rescuing Mercury and company including Blu and Jewel, Saturn, Orquidea, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus had reached the territory of Orquidea's tribe, the blue-and-gold macaws. As the family flew at a pace that was slow enough for the seven chicks to fly, Saturn and Orquidea began to search the surroundings decorated by aqua blue and yellow birds with green foreheads for Soleado and Zoie. As the two adult macaws' eyes scanned the surroundings, they landed on a familiar macaw who chatted with his family, his mate and a chick, while eating a mango and some guavas. At this, Orquidea swerved out of her flight path and towards the macaw, Saturn and the chicks following.

"Ignacio!" called Orquidea. At this, the male macaw with his mate and daughter all looked up and when they saw the familiar family of nine fly over to them, Ignacio creased his beak into a surprise smile.

"Orquidea, Saturn," he said, "What are you doing here?"

"We thought you were back in Rio with your friends for the summer," said Sandra, Ignacio's mate. At this, Saturn and his family landed on the perch before them and took some time to rest. Brooke, the daughter of Sandra and Ignacio then walked over to Mimas and her six siblings and hugged them. After finishing their break, Orquidea spoke.

"We were back in Rio for the summer but we don't have time to explain that. We're looking for Soleado and Zoie," said she, "We have something urgent that we must tell them. Have you seen them anywhere?"

"Soleado is at the blue-and-gold/Spix border with Eduardo, Alonso and Demetrio," said Ignacio, "But Zoie is here but she is out with her four children Tobias, Ascua, Amarillo and Bromelia. They'll be back in our home patch in a few minutes. Why what's the urgent message?"

"Poachers," said Saturn, "There are poachers afoot in the Sanctuary de Amazon."

When he saw Sandra and Ignacio look at each other, he continued, "I know it sounds crazy but it's true. There are a group of poachers who have managed to infiltrate the Sanctuary de Amazon disguised as ecologists and they have sent falcons and crows out to search for the macaw tribes and clans, particularly the Spix, the glaucous and the Lear's macaws."

"And not only that," added Orquidea, "Those poachers already have Blu, Jewel and several other of our friends. We have managed to escape but the others are still trapped…"

When these words were picked up by Ignacio and Sandra, their heads rose like twanged branches in horror.

"You're kidding," said Sandra in disbelief.

"But our home's a sanctuary now," said Ignacio in agreement, "Poaching has become outlawed. How can there be poachers afoot?"

Just then there was a call which drew the group's attention to its source. A few blue-and-gold macaws, some of the macaws from Zoie and Soleado's inner circle, were shouting to the surrounding blue-and-gold macaws to gather at Soleado's meeting place. At this, Saturn tipped his head to one side.

"Looks like Soleado has already heard the news of the threat," he said. Ignacio and Sandra did not reply and just took off with Brooke following. Saturn and his family followed. Soon, the air above the blue-and-gold tribe's home patch was filled with aqua blue or turquoise and yellow streaks as macaws rocketed into the air in the direction of Zoie and Soleado's tree. Someone had left to fetch Zoie and her four children, Tobias, Ascua, Amarillo and Bromelia. While the blue-and-gold tribe was gathering to hear Soleado tell them about the poacher threat, in the glaucous macaws and the Navyfeathers' territory, Jupiter, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto were flying through the trees. Flashes of turquoise, blue, grey and navy blue indicated the presence of the glaucous and hyacinth macaws as they sat in the trees, chatting and eating fruit. Several eyes from these birds looked on in surprise as the splash of red flew through their home patch. As they flew along, Jupiter and Ruby began to ask about Flavio, Rudi and Valeria and their whereabouts.

"Excuse me," said Jupiter to a pair of hyacinth macaws, "Have you seen Rudi, Valeria and Flavio?"

"You mean our clan's patriarch and the leaders of the glaucous macaw tribe?" replied one of them, a female. Jupiter and Ruby nodded.

"We need to speak to them at once," said Ruby, "This is urgent."

At this, the pair of hyacinth macaws looked at each other until the male pointed a large navy blue wing in the direction of a particular tree.

"They're over there in that tree with Marinho," he said, "But they might busy with Valeria and Rudi's two sons, Alberto and Lorenzo."

At this, the scarlet macaws rocketed off in the direction, their four chicks close behind.

"Thanks pal," said Jupiter as he left. The hyacinth macaw couple looked on in wonder. Jupiter and his family continued flying on until the tree melted into view. On one branch of the tree were four birds, two very large and navy blue and two small with turquoise plumages and grey heads. Not too far away from the four were two small chicks flying around. They, too, were turquoise and grey.

"I think that's them over there," said Jupiter and with that, he, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto flew on. The four macaws, which were indeed Flavio, Marinho, Rudi and Valeria, were talking away. Rudi and Valeria's chicks, Alberto and Lorenzo played nearby while the four adults ate and chatted.

"It sure is great to have a proper home after so many years since we lost our home to those flying furballs," said Rudi as he ate a guava slice, "I just can't thank you enough."

"Well, according to Alonso and Soleado," said Flavio, "There hasn't been any suspicious flying fox activity since the incident involving the Jandayan parakeet was badly injured, which is a good thing."

"Absolutely," said Valeria, her eyes firmly on her two sons as they continued playfully chasing each other. Marinho then swallowed a fig.

"Well, now that your tribe is safe under the protection of our well-meaning human friends," he said to Rudi and Valeria with a smile, "You can rest assured that your flock will be protected from logging and poaching."

Rudi was about to reply when Flavio saw something approach the group.

"Hey, isn't that?" he began. At this, Rudi, Valeria and Marinho turned to see six red birds, two large and four small, fly in towards them.

"Jupiter and Ruby," said Marinho in surprise, "What are they doing here? I thought they were back in Rio with their friends for the summer."

At this, the four adult macaws walked over to the family of scarlet macaws. Lorenzo and Alberto returned to Valeria's side as Jupiter, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto landed rather clumsily onto the perch before them.

"Whoa, easy, you six," said Flavio as the six macaws regained their balance and began to pant, "What's the hurry?"

Jupiter managed to gain control of his breathing enough to speak.

"We've come here to warn you guys, especially the glaucous macaws," he said. at this, Rudi and Valeria stepped forward.

"What about?" asked Rudi.

"Is it serious?" asked Valeria.

"Yes it is," said Ruby, "There are poachers afoot. They already have some of our friends caged including Lapis Lazuli and her family, and Blu and Jewel but we managed to escape but those poachers have managed to infiltrate the Sanctuary de Amazon disguised as ecologists and have sent falcons and crows out to hunt you glaucous macaws, the Spix macaws and Lear's macaws down to catch…"

At this, Rudi and Valeria's heads rose in shock while Flavio and Marinho's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Poachers!?" snapped Marinho incredulously, "H-h-how could there be poachers about? This place is now a protected reserve."

"It's supposed to be," said Ruby, "But somehow this group of animal thieves have managed to hatch a sneaky plan to enter the Sanctuary de Amazon and now they're in progress in catching macaws, but you glaucous macaws, the Spix and the Lear's macaws are the prime targets due to your rarity."

At this, Rudi and Valeria looked at each other. Then a look of disgust came over Rudi's face.

"Well I guess those pesky humans aren't worth trusting after all," he growled. At this, Flavio shot him a stunned look.

"No, Rudi, that's not true," he said.

"It's not what you think," said Jupiter.

"But if some of those bird studiers have turned to becoming poachers," snarled Rudi, his feathers on end, "Then our trust in those humans has betrayed us!"

"It's not like that," said Ruby, "Listen, I know our human friends' efforts aren't perfect but…"

"Why did we ever put our trust in humans in the first place!?" cried Valeria angrily, her wings clenched into fists and shaking in the air. Lorenzo and Alberto also wailed. They had been told about smugglers by their parents and taught how to avoid humans and now they were terrified. Jupiter put a wing onto Rudi's shoulder.

"Look," he said firmly, making Rudi glare at him, "I know it's frustrating but you can't return to the way you used to live now…"

"Absolutely not!" snapped Rudi. Then Flavio intervened.

"Now, now, let's break it up," he said firmly. Turning to Jupiter, Flavio said, "So tell us what happened. How do you know about those poachers and how did they get here?"

So Jupiter launched into an explanation of the whole story. He told Flavio, Rudi, Valeria and Marinho how his group including Blu and Jewel had been captured by the poachers' falcons who had teamed up with a cockatoo called Nigel and some cats, and how one of the poachers had species on Tulio and his team in order to tell his group about the time they were going to go into the Amazon, and how the poachers were going to catch the glaucous macaws using falcons, among everything else. As Jupiter had finished, Flavio, Rudi, Valeria and Marinho stood there in disbelief.

"I see," said Flavio. Then his face turned fierce. "Well, those poachers have NO place in our protected home. They must be stopped right away and those birds that have been caught by them rescued as soon as possible."

Then Valeria got a glimpse of a scratch like mark on Jupiter's left ankle.

"What has happened to your foot?" she asked with a frown. Jupiter gazed down at his foot where Nigel had bitten him. He had removed his bandage during the flight into the Navyfeathers and glaucous macaws' territory.

"That was done by that infamous cockatoo named Nigel," he said, "But it's a long story."

Flavio was about to say something when suddenly, the sounds of flapping wings was heard. At this, all the heads of the group looked up and saw three hyacinth macaws and two glaucous macaws fly in. The five macaws' faces were filled with terror as though they had just escaped from a harpy eagle.

"Flavio, Rudi!" cried the one at the front, a female. At this, the Navyfeather Clan and glaucous macaw tribe patriarchs walked over to the five macaws as they landed clumsily onto another perch. Jupiter, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto looked on.

"What is it, Bruna?" asked Flavio. The hyacinth macaw at the front, Bruna, panted and puffed until she managed to regain control of her breathing enough to speak.

"There are some intruders attacking the glaucous macaw tribe!" she blurted out. Horror tore through the group and Rudi and Valeria jumped in.

"Flying foxes?" asked Rudi.

"No, a pair of birds of prey and a few black birds," said one of the glaucous macaws that had accompanied Bruna and the other two hyacinth macaws, "Falcons and crows to be exact. We don't know what species they are but…"

"What do the birds of prey look like?" asked Marinho.

"The birds of prey are both grey with an ivory underside," said Bruna, using her wings to describe the shapes of the two birds, "About this big and with two pointed wings shaped like this."

She positioned her wings into a falcon shape. At this, Jupiter recognised what Bruna was talking about.

"That sounds like two of the poachers' peregrine falcons," he said.

"Peregrine falcons?" asked Valeria.

"They're super-fast and powerful birds of prey capable of diving up to 200mph," said Jupiter, "These poachers own six of them, and also a flock of crows. Sounds like two of the falcons and some of the crows have managed to find the glaucous macaw tribe…"

As he said this, Rudi told Bruna, "Take me and Valeria there as FAST AS YOU CAN!"

Bruna nodded and took off, her four companions following. Valeria then scooped up Alberto and Lorenzo and took off, followed by Rudi, Flavio and Marinho.

"We're going too," shouted Jupiter as he and his family opened their wings and took off. Soon, the mixed group of glaucous, hyacinth and scarlet macaws were on their way to the glaucous macaw tribe's home patch. Rudi and Valeria, with Alberto and Lorenzo in her talons, flew ahead with Bruna, the other two hyacinth macaws and the two glaucous macaws, Flavio and Marinho flew after them and behind them, flew Jupiter, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. The passing group's hurry had attracted the attention of some other glaucous and hyacinth macaws and they immediately followed. A minute later, the home patches of the glaucous macaws and the Navyfeather hyacinth macaws emerged into view. However, the air around them was in turmoil. As the group flew towards the glaucous macaw tribe's home patch, they halted in horror, their beaks dropped open and eyes wide. Jupiter, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto also stopped. Around the trees the glaucous macaw tribe called home were turquoise and grey streaks shooting and weaving in and out like a shoal of fish Jupiter had seen swimming desperately away from a variety of predators on TV back in London. Screams of horror and terror were exploding from the glaucous macaws' beaks as a grey and ivory streak, one of the falcons, dived after them in an attempt to grab them. Nearby, another falcon and a few black forms were being fiercely attacked by a small group of hyacinth macaws.

"Those are the two falcons and the small group of crows that I've told you about," said Bruna. At this, Rudi told Valeria to stay behind with Alberto and Lorenzo and flew off into the battle site.

"Rudi, NO!" shouted Flavio but the glaucous tribe patriarch was out of earshot. Amongst the cloud of fleeing glaucous macaws, the falcon, Cazador was swooping about trying to catch two of the rare macaws. His piercing eyes were blazing with frustration and determination and he was breathing heavily but he refused to let exhaustion weigh him down.

"C'mere you stupid PIGEONS!" he shouted and shot off after some more glaucous, macaws but they dodged. Nearby, Aliana, the other falcon, and the crows were facing a brutal backlash from a group of the Navyfeather Clan hyacinth macaws. They were already covered in scratches and bald patches but they were still full of the fuel of determination to nab at least one of the glaucous macaws. As she dodged a talon slash thrown from one of the hyacinth macaws with two crows, Aliana glared at the navy blue birds bitterly.

"So YOU pesky dark blue birds had to live right beside this flock of preciously rare macaws, huh?" she growled sourly, dodging another talon swipe, "Just our luck (!)"

Aliana then flew upward to avoid a tackle attack from another hyacinth macaw. The crows also dodged the talon swipes thrown by the hyacinth macaws, their eyes burning with the same frustration as Aliana.

"We weren't told that those precious birds lived next to a flock of such massive parrots," shouted one as he dodged a talon swipe.

"This is gonna be a challenge," said another. The crows continued darting about to avoid getting clawed. Then some of the crows began to fly around like comets, a hyacinth macaw each on their tails. It was obvious that Aliana and the crows were outmatched by the more massive hyacinth macaws. They were twice Aliana's size and had bigger talons and while Aliana and the crows had speed on their side, the hyacinth macaws had strength and agility. Then some of the hyacinth macaws flew after Cazador to attack him as he continued causing the glaucous macaws havoc as one of Aliana's attackers, Pedro who was Bruna's mate, jumped in and grabbed Aliana by the neck.

"You're going NOWHERE, you pest!" he snarled. Aliana writhed in the big parrot's talon but the grip was iron. Then more massive hyacinth macaw talons rushed in and grabbed Aliana's wings and talons and began to restrain her. While Aliana and the crows struggled with the hyacinth macaws, the latter racing around like black comets with even bigger navy blue comets chasing after them, Cazador continued chasing the glaucous macaws but he too soon began to face attacks from some hyacinth macaws. Cazador cried in shock as a few giant navy blue comets barged into him. Then the next minute, Cazador was fighting against a group of enormous birds. While he was occupied with the small group of hyacinth macaws, Aliana had managed to break free of the shackles formed by hyacinth macaw talons and make a break for it, the crows close behind. The flock of hyacinth macaws gave chase. During her escape, Aliana flew straight towards some glaucous macaws, reached out with her talons and then grabbed a couple of glaucous macaws by the necks, the others scattering like leaves being blown over by a wind. The crows continued flying on and did not bother trying to nab any of the glaucous macaws. Then the two macaws that were caught by Aliana began screeching and flapping as Aliana began to carry them away. Rudi hovered and looked on in horror but then Jupiter took action.

"Jupiter, NO!" cried Ruby but the vermillion scarlet macaw had already lofted himself into flight and charged at the falcon. Aliana continued flying with the two glaucous macaws trailing under her with the hyacinth macaws in hot pursuit but did not see Jupiter coming to intercept her. Then as Jupiter closed in on the peregrine falcon, he reached out with his talons and as soon as he collided with Aliana, he raked his claws across the falcon's face. A loud cry of agony exploded from Aliana's face. She released the two glaucous macaws and covered her scratched face with her talons, with a few drops of blood oozing through the toes. Cazador, when he heard Aliana's agonised squawks as he continued fighting off the hyacinth macaws, turned to see what was going on with Aliana but when his eyes landed on Jupiter, hot rage burned within him.

"YOU!" he snarled and with that, he rocketed off at Jupiter but before he could leap at the scarlet macaw to attack him, a wall of massive navy blue birds appeared and blocked his way. Among the wall were Flavio and Marinho and their faces were volcanic eruption storms, and all the hyacinth macaws had their talons poised to attack. Cazador, seeing that he was outnumbered and outmatched in strength and size, immediately made his decision.

"Aliana, crows, RETREAT!" he shouted and with that, he took off. The hyacinth macaws gave chase. Aliana, her scratched face still oozing blood, followed with the crows flying close behind. As the two falcons and crows fled, the group of hyacinth macaws perched and watched them flee while some of the other hyacinth macaws went to check the glaucous macaws for any injuries. Rudi perched beside Flavio when Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto came in.

"Those two falcons and those crows are some of the poachers' pets we told you about," said Ruby. Then Jupiter flew in with Valeria, Lorenzo and Alberto who had been watching from the side-lines the whole time.

"I see what you mean," growled Valeria bitterly.

"Those falcons certainly did look dangerous," said Alberto and Lorenzo together.

"They are, you two," said Jupiter as he cleaned his talon claws of some blood drops that had attached to his talons when he scratched Aliana across the face.

"We must do something about those poachers then," said Flavio with a scowl on his face, "How large is this poaching group, Jupiter?"

"There are quite a number of them," said Jupiter, "I haven't counted but I'd say there are over twenty or thirty."

"Besides a few cats and that cockatoo, and those crows and falcons," added Ruby.

"That's quite a big group then," said Flavio as he put a wing to his beak to think. Marinho then came in.

"Any serious injuries, Marinho?" asked Rudi.

"No, just a few tiny scratches," said Marinho, "Nothing serious."

Rudi breathed a sigh of relief but then his bitter scowl returned.

"We're gonna have to do something about those poachers," he growled, "We can't have them threatening us or our friends, especially if this is supposed to be a protected reserve."

"My uncle's already said that, Rudi," said Marinho. Then Flavio frowned at them.

"We're gonna deal with those poachers together," he said, "And rescue any of the macaws or animals they have caught."

"But Flavio," said Valeria, "Those falcons could be dangerous. Some of us could get hurt…"

"With us massive birds behind you," said Marinho, "You'll have a greater chance of combating them."

"That's exactly what we're gonna do," said Flavio firmly, "What we'll do is we'll round up the macaws in our tribe and clan, and then fly to where the poachers are and assess how big their group is."

Turning to Jupiter, Flavio said, "Do you know where those poachers are located?"

Jupiter nodded, to Flavio's smile. Then Flavio turned to the group of glaucous and hyacinth macaws and began to discuss his plans of combating the poachers, Jupiter, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto watching on. While Flavio began to discuss his plans of combating the poachers, Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa had delivered the warning of the poachers afoot to Pearl and the red macaw tribe while Demetrio had gone to warn his clan and the blue-throated macaws of the threat. Alonso had also delivered the warning to Valentino and his tribe as well as the green macaw tribe, and Eduardo had warned his tribe about the poachers. Now that all the macaw tribes and clans had been warned of the poacher threat, the tribe leaders began their next step of action, gathering to meet the poachers to fight them and rescue the remaining caged birds including Blu and Jewel.

 **Meanwhile**

Xerosic and Bryony had managed to return to the poachers' location with their three caught Spix macaws, Maximillian, Roxie and Elena in their talons. As soon as they had arrived, Lysandre greeted them while two of his underlings and the cats prepared their cages.

"Well done, you two," he said. Xerosic and Bryony chirped in acceptance of their owner's praise. Maximillian, Roxie and Elena, however, gasped in horror. Then Lysandre ordered his falcons to cage the birds, which they did. Roxie, Maximillian and Elena were all tossed into a single cage together. As soon as Roxie was thrown in, one of the cats, the all-black male, slammed the cage door shut and padlocked it. Then the cats carried the three caged Spix macaws to place with the others. Another cat, Otis, grinned at the three Spix macaws as Bryony and Xerosic prepared to return to the rainforest to catch more macaws.

"Our plan is indeed goin' well," said Otis with a wicked grin on his face. The other cats tittered in agreement. The three Spix macaws, however, were extremely cross.

"So those humans are owners of yours, are they!?" snarled Roxie, her cyan feathers on end.

"Just wait till Eduardo hears about this, you filthy four-legged felines!" growled Maximillian volcanically.

"Eduardo?" asked another cat, Moggy, "Who's Eduardo?"

"He's our _tribe leader_ you cat-brain," snapped Elena bitterly, "He's surely gonna be _very angry…"_

A mocking laugh escaped Otis's throat.

"I'm afraid there's no way out, you three feathered gemstones," he crooned, "You're gonna be smuggled out of Brazil once we have caught plenty of other Spix, Lear's and glaucous macaws."

When the three Spix macaws heard this, horror and disbelief tore through them.

"Caught more Spix…?" began Maximillian. Then an idea entered Roxie's head, an idea that she didn't like one bit.

"Do you mean these humans are…?" she began.

"Poachers?" said Moggy with an evil sneer, finishing Roxie's sentence, "Yes they are."

"WHAT!?" snapped Elena in utter flabbergast.

"But our home's a protected reserve," said Roxie, "How can that be?"

"We don't have time to talk to you feathered gemstones," said Otis, "We have a lot of work still to do."

Roxie, Elena and Maximillian looked on in shock but then the furious looks returned to their faces. Just then, another falcon returned with two dark navy blue birds in his talons. Swoop had returned with the two Lear's macaws he had caught. As soon as he had approached two of Lysandre's underlings and some crows, the two Lear's macaws were immediately shoved into a cage and the door padlocked. As soon as this was done, the two Lear's macaws were carried over to where the caged group including Blu and Jewel were being held. The whole action had been observed by some of the escaped macaws and a cat. Ceres, Neptune and Daisy had been watching the three Spix macaws and the two Lear's macaws get caged and then taken to where Blu's group was. At this, the three returned to the hiding spot where Catina and the others were. Catina and her group which consisted of Daisy, Ginger, Mars, Chiquitita and their sons Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre, Uranus, Esmeralda and their chicks Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon, Neptune, Ultramarine and their two chicks Indigo and Triton, Ceres, Cobalto and their sons Aurelio, Azul and Wilbur and Pluto, Lapis Lazuli and their four chicks Charon, Blueberry, Quincy and Flor had moved from behind the tree stump to amongst the ferns just on the edge of the deforested area. As Ceres, Daisy and Neptune returned to the group, Ceres delivered the report.

"They've caught five more macaws, Catina," said she, "Three Spix and two Lear's."

Catina shot her a horrified glare.

"We're gonna have to think of an effective and fool-proof plan to rescue those birds still trapped in those cages, Dash and the others and then getting those poachers stopped as soon as possible, then," she said, "Otherwise more and more birds are gonna be caught right under Tulio and his team's noses."

"I hope Saturn, Travis and Jupiter and their families will have alerted the macaw tribes and clans and Tulio and his team by now," said Mars worriedly. Ginger then stared out into the clearing and watched the five newly caught birds get placed amongst Blu's group.

"Absolutely, or that collection of caught macaws will continue to grow and get larger," she said. Then she and the others with her began to discuss a possible plan. Back with Blu's group, Blu, Jewel, Zephyr, Venus, Mercury and Sapphire and all the chicks were still in a state of either fear, anger or despair, as were Roberto, Brisa, Enrique, Felipe, and Felipe's chicks Benjamin, Regina and Alfonso. However, horror and shock were also thrown into the mix when these birds saw two more cages, one containing three Spix macaws and the other two Lear's macaws, one of whom was Monique, the Lear's macaw tribe's Pit of Doom scoremarker, were lowered and placed next to them.

"Maximillian, Roxie, Elena," cried Jewel in utter shock. Zephyr, Venus, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil and Carla, Bia and Tiago looked on in shock.

"Monique, Ray," shouted Sapphire as Mercury, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette stared on. The five macaws as they were placed amongst the group shot the macaws a bitter glare as the cats and humans then left.

"You ought to question the definition of 'well-meaning humans', you lot," snarled Maximillian bitterly. His caramel eyes then landed on Blu, "Especially, you, Drew!"

Blu, at this, did not know what to say at first, but then something came into his head.

"I'm sorry," he said, "We had no idea that this group of humans were planning on intruding into the Sanctuary de Amazon…"

"You call these wretched poachers 'well-meaning'?" asked Monique, a wing gesturing to the group of poachers as they wandered around the clearing looking for the falcons and crows, hoping that they had brought back more Spix and Lear's macaws.

"Don't tell me that some of our human friends have took to stealing macaws like every other poacher has done, have they?" asked Roxie. At this, Mercury tried to explain despite his fear of Nigel still bubbling within him.

"Look, it's not what you think," he protested, "You see, we were ambushed by these poachers' pets…"

"Ambushed?" interrupted Monique brusquely, "What do you mean ambushed?"

At this, Sapphire took over.

"It's a long story," she said, "These poachers are not originally part of Tulio and his team. It seems that they have managed to get them fooled by their sly disguise-as-ecologists idea in order to infiltrate this protected reserve…"

"Fooled?" repeated Elena bitterly, "How could those well-meaning humans, that is, those that care for our species' existence, be fooled by those poachers?"

"I-i-it's complicated," said Sapphire, "But it doesn't matter now. We've got friends working to sort this mess out including those that had managed to escape."

"How?" asked Maximillian bitterly.

"Some will have gone out to warn the macaw tribes and clans," said Zephyr, "Hopefully they'll have reached them by now and have delivered the warning…"

"Well I HOPE they have," snarled Felipe next to Zephyr and company's cage bitterly as his temper boiled, "Because the idea of poachers disguising as well-meaning humans really IS starting to drive me around the bend!"

He then shot Roberto and Brisa a glare and said, "Especially Roberto there. Being in this situation is terrifying him."

It was true, Roberto was practically on edge. His blue eyes were wide and he was breathing uncontrollably. His crest feathers were spiked out and he was glancing this way and that as though he wanted to flee but not with the barriers of bars and slabs of metal in the way. Venus and Mercury also looked equally terrified, as did the chicks. Then suddenly, aggressive shouts reached the ears of the caged birds. It sounded like a seriously heated argument. Zephyr shot Blu and Jewel a look.

"I thought you two had started arguing again," he said.

"It wasn't us, Zephyr," said Jewel.

"It's coming from outside," said Sapphire. At this, the group looked around as the sounds of the argument became louder in their ears. Soon, the group was able to make out meaningful words and sentences.

"You are NOT going to kill ANY of the Spix and Lear's macaws, Nigel! They're too invaluable, each and every one of them! Remember what Cazador said!"

Otis's voice, and to Blu, Jewel, Sapphire, Venus, Zephyr and Mercury's surprise, it sounded so furious.

"Do you hear that black and white cat, Dad," said Bia, "It sounds so upset."

Then another voice exploded back against the first voice. It was the unmistakable, dreary voice of the psychotic cockatoo, Nigel. However, his voice was saturated with immense stubbornness, like a chick that cannot get its own way.

"I DON'T CARE, OTIS! I WANNA KILL THAT PIGTAILED SPIX MACAW AND GREY-EYED LEAR'S MACAW'S MATES and DEVASTATE THEM!"

Mercury and Venus flinched harshly as the two animals then came into view. It was indeed Nigel and Otis and they were locked in a volcanic argument. Jewel saw that Nigel's crest was fully raised and his brown eyes were full of burning brown flames. Felipe, Enrique, Roberto, Maximillian, Elena, Roxie, Monique and the other Lear's macaw, Ray, just remained quiet for they had not met Nigel before but Brisa looked on sourly. The main group then kept their voices down to continue to watch the argument as Otis took his turn to spit his choice of words at Nigel.

"Do you want to be evicted from this group, cockatoo!?" he snarled, lurching forward towards Nigel, "We're getting SICK of your temper tantrums and your pointless desire and obsession in killing those two macaws just to devastate their families. They're a Spix and a Lear's macaw, and Cazador has ordered us not to kill any of them…"

Brisa's head jerked upward when she heard this, before her lime green eyes travelled to Zephyr and Sapphire, and Venus and Mercury. The latter two were extremely scared but the former two were bitterly angry.

"Nigel wants to…" she began but Zephyr confirmed it with a nod of his head. Then it dawned upon Brisa as the story of Venus and Mercury's families and their death at Nigel's talons flashed in her mind. Then Nigel's machine gun of words pulled the group's attention back to him and Otis.

"Look, we're gonna be getting dozens more Spix and Lear's macaws as time goes by," snarled the cockatoo volcanically, "Two is NOT gonna hurt. Just let me put to death Pigtails and Grey-eyes' mates RIGHT NOW!"

Otis flinched in disbelief before scowling.

"You've become seriously obsessed with that haven't you, cockatoo?" he barked, a paw pointing to Nigel's chin but the cockatoo stormed away from him and in the caged birds' direction, ignoring Otis's statement. When they saw the cockatoo walk towards them, Venus and Mercury and the chicks backed away but Zephyr and Sapphire took up defensive positions. Blu and Jewel did the same. Otis shouted after Nigel.

"Nigel, get back here!" he barked, "Nigel. Nigel. NIGEL!"

When he saw that he wasn't getting any response, Otis let loose a cat-hiss of frustration and called for some of his feline comrades and some crows. Nigel continued walking towards the caged birds until he finally stopped directly in front of Zephyr and company's cage. As Nigel's scratched face moved close to the bars, Venus and the nine chicks backed away in fear but Zephyr's face flared up.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't add another set of claw marks to your face, vulture," hissed the Spix macaw. Blu and Jewel then looked at each other and began to shift their cage closer to Nigel by flapping in it. Nigel, in response to Zephyr's threat, lashed a talon and grabbed the male macaw by the neck. Venus and the others released piercing screams and gasps when they saw this. Nigel then heaved Zephyr, his talon tightly wrapped around his neck to the point of cutting off his breathing, close to his face. Zephyr winced at the scratches marking Nigel's face. It was clear that Nigel had been picking at his scratches as they scabbed over for he had a habit of picking at scabs, and as a result, his face looked even uglier than ever.

"Don't make me break your neck, pretty bird," hissed the cockatoo threateningly, his stinking breath and spittle leaping with his words into Zephyr's face, "Your time has come."

Suddenly, a talon appeared from Zephyr's left and its barb-like claws slashed down Nigel's right cheek. The cockatoo screeched and released Zephyr before jerking back. Zephyr then began to breathe the moment the vice was released from his neck. He landed into Venus's wings, gasping for air. Venus had been the one to deliver the scratch to Nigel's face. Nigel then looked up and glared at the pigtailed Spix macaw as she looked on with tear-filled eyes, his brown eyes glittering with malice. His wing was over his new scratch and some red drops oozed from the fresh set of claw marks.

"How DARE you scratch me like that, you USELESS…" snarled the cockatoo and with that, he lunged towards Venus but before he could jump up and attack her with his talons, cat paws and crow talons appeared behind him and latched onto his wings and head. At this, the deranged cockatoo snapped his head back at the owners of the paws and talons.

"LET ME GO, YOU BUNCH OF FOOLS!" he bellowed but the crows and the cats including Otis maintained their iron grip on his wings and head. Then the group began to drag Nigel away from Venus and her family and Blu and Jewel's chicks. Blu and Jewel had stopped shifting their cage nearer to Nigel the moment they saw the cats and crows hook their claws and talons onto his wings and head. Nigel writhed and floundered in their grip but the cats and crows continued to drag him away further from the caged group.

"I WILL kill your mate, pigtails," bellowed the cockatoo in a deranged voice, much to Venus's disgust, "I WILL see you and your grey-eyed friend in utter heartbreak, just like how you were when you were chicks…"

"You!" snarled Venus bitterly, a wing feather pointing laser-like at Nigel's face and tears falling from her amber eyes, "You will always… ALWAYS… be the infamously psychotic cockatoo known by EVERY exotic bird inhabitant of the Blu Bird Sanctuary."

"Such that NO-ONE would want to be your friend… EVER!" put in Mercury fiercely, tears also falling from his grey eyes.

"Except that frog who is head-over-feet in love with you," added Blu spitefully. Venus and Mercury shot Blu a glare but Blu glanced back at them unashamed. Nigel then began to fiercely writhe and squirm in the cats' and crows' paws and talons but the cats and crows refused to let go and continued to drag him away. Nigel then shot Blu and Jewel a detesting glare.

"As for you, Blu, I WILL tear apart your family and leave you feeling the loss YOU have caused me of my ability to fly!" he bellowed.

"Don't count on it," snarled Jewel and with that, she spat on the ground to emphasize her detestation of the cockatoo. Nigel then gave up trying to resist the cats and crows' dragging him away and went along with them, but he still had in mind to kill Zephyr and Sapphire to inflict possibly irreparable heartbreak on Venus, Mercury and their chicks and rip Blu's family apart once the poaching operation was complete and when the poachers set to sorting their caught birds into destination groups.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29- the initial mini-storms before the main one**

Tulio and his team had made it to the glaucous macaws' home patch but as they arrived, they noticed something a bit odd about the behaviour of the glaucous macaws. All the eyes from the human group saw the glaucous macaws fly around in the trees, emitting squawked panics. Darker, navy blue flashes indicated the presence of hyacinth macaws.

"What's going on?" asked Linda.

"Looks like something has spooked the glaucous macaws," said Susan.

"It's not us, is it?" asked Fernando. Tulio did not reply. He was equally puzzled by the behaviour of the glaucous macaws and the hyacinth macaws and could not figure why they appeared so frightened. Then a few minutes later, many of the glaucous and hyacinth macaws flew away in a particular direction.

"Could they be sensing a threat or something?" asked Lucy. Tulio then shot his team a suspicious look.

"Don't tell me loggers have intruded into this part of the Amazon rainforest, have they?" he asked sternly, "Because you know how valuable those macaws are and how important it is to protect them from going extinct."

"Or it could be something else," said Francisco. Tulio then paused until finally, he turned to his group.

"Let's see where those glaucous macaws are headed off," he said, "I have a feeling that it is definitely loggers afoot. We'll see to the project later."

And with that, the group of humans turned round and prepared to trudge back through the clutter of vegetation.

 **Meanwhile**

Catina continued observing the activities of the poachers as they continued walking around like hunters waiting patiently for a prized animal to appear. During her observations, she saw two of the falcons and some crows return emptyhanded. They were all covered in a few bruises, cuts and bald patches but one of the falcons had a scratch marking her face. Mars also saw them. He still had his screwdriver on talon, ready for freeing the macaws as soon as Catina formulated a plan.

"Looks like those two falcons and that group of crows have put up a pretty nasty fight with some of the macaws," he said.

"At least they have come back emptyhanded," said Catina with relief. Then Pluto remembered that Rudi's tribe lived alongside Flavio's clan.

"I just remembered," he said, "I think the reason why those two falcons and those crows with them have returned battered and bruised is because of Flavio's clan, the Navyfeathers."

Catina shot him a surprised look.

"Those hyacinth macaws must have helped protect the glaucous macaws from being attacked," said Lapis Lazuli, "Given how formidable they are when it comes to combating them, especially a flock of them."

Neptune and Ultramarine, at this, stared at their size and the size of the other macaws and saw that Pluto and Lapis Lazuli were right.

"I'd agree," said Neptune, "A peregrine falcon is probably around half the size of a hyacinth macaw, and a crow smaller. I mean, two small falcons and a group of small crows against a flock of, say, dozens of hyacinth macaws is a total mismatch."

"Glad the glaucous macaws have a powerful ally to help defend them then," said Daisy excitedly.

"Look, let's just focus on busting those macaws out from those cages over there before any of the poachers' pets, especially Nigel, does anything to them," said Catina and with that, the group returned to discussing their rescue plan. At this moment, in the cargo bay of one of the poachers' chinook-like helicopters, Veggie, Dash, Collette and Thomas continued murmuring. Avellana, Danny, James, Esperanza and Eduarda were nearby in their cages with the pilot (the same person who drove the helicopter and transported Tulio and his team to the Sanctuary de Amazon), their limbs tightly bound together by ropes and netting material.

"How are we gonna get out of here?" groaned Collette, "Tulio and his team have yet to be alerted to the presence of these poachers and I have a horrible feeling that they will have already caught some macaws…"

As she said this, the pilot had leaned over to Avellana, his tied hands close to her mouth. Avellana was tugging at the ropes binding his hands, the strings in her teeth. Then James bowed his head.

"We're sorry, Dad, Veggie," he groaned, "It's all our fault."

"It's not, son," said Dash as he struggled in his cage. He and his puppies were packed tightly into their cages, "It's just unfortunate that things went spiralling out of control…"

"We foolishly exposed ourselves to the poachers while we brought in the pilot," said Danny, "And ended up caught."

Veggie licked his wounds he had received from his earlier skirmish with Nigel while he listened. Then a thought about Zephyr and Sapphire entered Eduarda's head.

"We've got to rescue those Spix and Lear's macaws before Nigel implements his plans to hurt any of them," she said worriedly, "I've a feeling he'll have attempted to do just that even as we speak…"

As Eduarda said this, Avellana had managed to get the ropes binding the pilot's hands loose and the pilot wriggled his hands free of the ropes. After this, he set to untying his legs and feet. Then Danny gazed at the padlock locking him into his cage as Veggie said in response to Eduarda's worry, "Well, before that savage sulfur-crested piece of work does anything to the remaining birds. We have to get out of here and rescue them…"

"But… how?" asked Danny. At this, Thomas clicked a claw open and inserted it into the padlock's keyhole to try and break himself free.

"We'll just have to use our claws," said Thomas as he fiddled with the padlock. Just then, Avellana's voice alerted him.

"I think our human friend here is going to help us escape, Thomas," said the hazelnut coloured greyhound. At this, Dash, Veggie, Thomas, Collette, Esperanza, Eduarda, James and Danny all looked and saw that the pilot had untied himself and was free. Then the pilot, his eyes on the cats and dogs, began to think of a way to free them from their cages. As he thought about this, he began to search the cargo bay for any possible device to unlock the padlocks. As he did this, Thomas continued fiddling with the padlock locking him in his cage. He was quite impatient and desperate to get out of his cage and thus was struggling.

"Try not to rush it, son," said Veggie, trying to calm Thomas's impatience but Thomas continued to struggle. His face was twisted into a frustrated scowl with his teeth bared as his eyes fixed upon the padlock. Then the pilot returned with something in his hand. It was a piece of sharp metal, like the steel part of a screwdriver. Dash, at this smiled as the pilot walked over to him.

"I hope this works, dog," said the pilot as he inserted it into the padlock and began to twist it to unlock the device. "It's the only suitable thing I could find that might break you out of these cages."

Dash smiled as the pilot set to work. Nearby, Thomas continued fiddling with his cage's padlock until finally, its locking mechanism jolted out of its socket. Thomas smiled enthusiastically.

"I've done it!" he said.

"Well done, Thomas," said Veggie. Thomas then opened the cage door and got out of his cage before setting to helping the pilot free the other cats and dogs…

 **Meanwhile**

Outside the copter in which the pilot and Dash and company had been stashed, Lysandre and his poaching group continued stalking the periphery of the deforested area, eyes fixed on the trees for any flashes of colour and net guns ready to fire nets at any macaws or animal they find. One of the poachers had managed to net a parakeet and that bird had been caged and put with the other caged birds, and Xerosic, Bryony and Swoop had been sent back out to grab more Spix and Lear's macaws. Cometa was nowhere to be seen and Cazador and Aliana, and their accompanying crows who had been tasked with catching some of the glaucous macaws, were among the cats and other crows. The group of two falcons and few crows were indeed covered with cuts, bruises and bald patches from torn out feathers, and Aliana's face was streaked with three gashes. The cats and other crows had been surprised that the two falcons had returned emptyhanded and now they were helping to treat the birds' injuries.

"What happened?" asked Otis as he dabbed some wet, clean tissue onto Aliana's facial scratch to clean it of some blood. Aliana flinched from the stinging sensation each time the material touched the sensitive wound.

"Those glaucous macaws are gonna be a challenge to catch," said Cazador as he allowed two crows to treat some cuts on his shoulder, "They've got a flock of massive hyacinth macaws living right near them. When we launched into catching the glaucous birds, the next moment was we came under attack by these massive navy blue macaws."

"They were huge, they were," said one of the crows that had gone with Cazador and Aliana, "Just like the two hyacinth macaws that had escaped. There was no way we were gonna fight against a flock of such massive birds."

It then shot Aliana a glare and added, "I actually thought Aliana was gonna break a wing or something."

"The scratch wasn't from one of the hyacinth macaws, it came from a scarlet macaw," said Aliana.

"Scarlet macaw?" repeated Otis.

"That vermillion macaw with a muscular bold," said Cazador in a growl, "I was gonna attack him but when I became confronted by a wall of hyacinth macaws, I decided to forget him and retreat."

He then smiled and said, "But at least Swoop, Xerosic and Bryony have caught three Spix macaws and two Lear's macaws which is a start."

But then Cazador's face fell to one of wonder as Cometa came into his head. "By the way, where is Cometa? I wonder why she is still out there and has not turned up yet."

Nearby, Nigel stood with his back against a tree trunk, a sour glare smearing his face. He did not look at the crows and cats as they treated Aliana and Cazador's injuries, and wanted to go against Cazador's orders not to touch any of the Spix and Lear's macaws. Then Moggy shouted, "I think that's her coming, Cazador."

At this, Cazador and the cats all looked and saw a grey and ivory form fly in towards them. Cometa then touched down before them. When Cazador saw that Cometa had turned up emptyhanded, he frowned.

"How come you've not returned with any macaws in your talons, Cometa?" he asked. Cometa, at this, looked up at him sorrowfully. However, under the façade of sorrow and disappointment, smugness lurked.

"I did catch two Lear's macaws but they got away," she said, covering up her true intentions, "They managed to writhe out of my talons and when I went after them to re-catch them again but I was confronted by a huge flock of angry Lear's macaws and decided to retreat."

Cazador allowed a sigh of frustration to escape his beak before looking up at the sky. Grey clouds were swallowing up the aqua blue.

"I hope we catch more macaws soon before it starts raining for one," he said, "And before that Tulio guy becomes suspicious for another…"

"This is proving much more difficult than we planned," said Cometa, "It could possibly take forever to catch up to twenty macaws..."

As she talked with Cazador, Nigel finally shot the group a glare and strode off towards the caged birds. He was going to put his plan into action, regardless of Cazador's orders of keeping his talons off the Spix macaws or what anyone else said. His obsession of seeing Venus and Mercury in utter misery and devastation he had nurtured all this time finally got the better of him. Around Cazador's group, Lysandre and his underlings continued pacing around the periphery of the deforested area, eyes scanning the trees for any flash of colour. To their dismay, they found nothing, and Lysandre's patience was running out. However, the poachers were too busy scanning the trees for any macaws or other animals to notice the door to the cargo bay of one of their helicopters had been opened. Dash's group had managed to escape their cages and their ropes thanks to the pilot's idea of using a piece of metal to pick the locks and now, Dash, Esperanza, Eduarda, Avellana, James, Danny, Veggie, Collette and Thomas were on their way towards Catina and their group while the pilot had sneaked in the direction of the other clearing where Tulio and his team's copter was to call Tulio and report the poachers to him. Catina and Dash's group had shared a brief union moment before breaking apart, and then Catina, having thought of a rescue plan, led the group in the direction of the caged birds, Mars ready with his screwdriver to pick the locks while the rest apart from the chicks and Ginger got prepared to attack the cats and crows. Catina's plan was to involve stealthy combat and retreat as a diversion instead, but Catina was not so sure about the poachers. If the humans spotted the group, they would all be netted within minutes, and there were a lot of them pacing around for Lysandre's group was massive.

Before they moved out of their cover amongst the vegetation, Catina kept an eye on three of Lysandre's underlings as they continued scanning the trees for any animals to catch. To her relief, their backs were turned to them. As soon as Catina saw that the coast was clear, she whispered to the others.

"Okay, go," she said in a low voice. And with that, Dash, Veggie, Esperanza, Avellana, Eduarda, James, Danny, Collette, Daisy, Thomas and Mars, Chiquitita, Uranus, Esmeralda, Neptune, Ultramarine, Ceres and Cobalto went ahead, stealthily heading towards the location of Blu's group. Ginger, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli and the chicks, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon, Triton and Indigo, Charon, Quincy, Flor and Blueberry, and Wilbur, Aurelio and Azul stayed behind as the others left with Catina.

"Be careful, you lot," said Ginger in a low voice. Catina nodded and continued following the others. Meanwhile, Blu's group continued to sit there in their cages. Blu had begun to fiddle with one of the padlocks locking him and Jewel into their cage with a talon claw while Jewel tried to calm Carla, Bia and Tiago, who were very frightened, and assure them that they will get out of here. Nearby, Brisa was gazing out into the trees through her and Roberto's cage bars.

"I hope help comes in time," she said, "I'm beginning to feel more and more nervous by the second."

"It will, just give those that had gone into the Amazon time, sis," said Zephyr. Brisa shot her brother a look while Roberto continued cowering in the cage corner. Felipe, Enrique, Benjamin, Alfonso and Regina just looked on as did Roxie, Elena, Maximillian, Ray and Monique. Above the group, the sky continued to darken as rainclouds continued to gather and thicken. However, the air above the caged group was about to darken as well, especially for Mercury and Venus. Sapphire continued comforting the frightened Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette as well as Mercury while Zephyr comforted Venus, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil. All the Spix macaw chicks but Virgil were very scared, especially of Nigel. His scratched face and battered look from his skirmish with Veggie had made him look more terrifying than ever. Not to mention his deranged behaviour threatening the lives of Zephyr and Sapphire. Nigel knew that there was a very strong loving bond between Venus and Zephyr, and Mercury and Sapphire, and each of the parents with the chicks, like there would have been between Venus and Mercury and their parents. If anything happened to Zephyr and Sapphire, Venus and Mercury's hearts would be torn in two, and Nigel knew this very well. He knew what devastation that would leave Mercury and Venus and their chicks if he killed Zephyr and Sapphire in front of them, but it would also devastate Jewel, Blu, Roberto and Brisa, especially the latter since she was Zephyr's sister. However, Zephyr and Sapphire refused to allow that sickening cockatoo to kill them just to hurt their mates and their friends.

Then Enrique, Benjamin, Regina and Alfonso saw something approach the group. The latter three began to cower behind Enrique while Felipe looked up. When his eyes landed on the approaching form, Felipe's green eyes flared up with fury once again. Blu and Jewel's eyes also fired up volcanically, while Roberto, Brisa, Roxie, Elena, Maximillian, Monique and Ray cowered in horror. Zephyr looked on in wonder.

"What is it?" he asked. Jewel shot him a glare.

"You'd better get your talons ready, Zephyr and Sapphire," she growled, "That crested slime-ball's coming."

At this, Zephyr and Sapphire became alarmed while Venus and Mercury and the chicks began to panic. Carla, Bia and Tiago backed towards Blu and Jewel, pressing against the bars nearest to them and the bars to their parents' cage while Justin and his three siblings cowered behind Venus who began to breathe uncontrollably. Mercury, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette also cowered as Sapphire prepared for action as a tacky, vest-wearing cockatoo strode in. Nigel's brown eyes were ablaze with the most maniacal sadism the group had ever seen, and they flared up when they fixed upon Venus and Mercury. When Nigel saw Venus and Mercury cower in fear, a very devilish grin crept into his beak and his crest rose.

"Yep, you two," he crooned sadistically, "The time has come for your hearts to be broken once again."

His eyes then travelled to the chicks. "And for history to repeat itself," he added. The eyes of the chicks glinted with immense fright but then Virgil stepped forward from behind Venus. Zephyr spread his wings protectively across his family but Nigel knew this was futile for he was one of his prime targets. Next to Venus and her family's, and their chicks' cage, Blu and Jewel looked on with the most acidic hate-filled look they had ever had. Then Zephyr raised a talon and flared its claws.

"Get away from us this minute, Nigel," he growled, "NOW!"

Nigel stood there, the devilish grin revoltingly smearing his beak.

"Or what, pretty bird?" he crooned.

"Or I'll brutally CLAW YA!" snarled Zephyr volcanically. His blue feathers were on end and his green eyes were volcanic ash plumes. Nigel's taunting of Venus and Mercury and his boasting of how he had torn their hearts into two as chicks when he had killed their families when they were chicks had finally sent Zephyr and Sapphire to boiling point. Sapphire then got ready to lash at Nigel as well, her talon claws flared in case he dared shove his face up to the cage. Nigel grinned at Zephyr's threat and sauntered towards him.

"You really think that's gonna change my plans, pretty bird?" he crooned mockingly, "That lovely pigtailed mate of yours deserves to be severely heartbroken, just like how she was when I killed her father and mother all those years ago. It sure was funny watching her break down and I had fun terrorising her and her little friend there," he stole a glance at Mercury, "When I beat them up and frightened them to shut them up."

Zephyr and Sapphire's eyes flashed with revulsion. Nigel had just had the audacity to poke fun at the scars he had inflicted on Venus and Mercury, AND enjoy doing it just to frighten the two macaws he had scarred for life and not regret it, and Nigel certainly did not have even a sliver of regret in him whatsoever. Zephyr's talon continued to hover with its claws flared poised to lurch at Nigel. Blu and Jewel also got ready to attack Nigel too.

"I mean it; you savage cockatoo," growled Zephyr, barely able to control his temper which was at boiling point, "You come one step closer, I'll brutally claw you."

"' _You come one step closer, I'll brutally claw you'_ " crooned Nigel mockingly, repeating Zephyr's warning immaturely, "You sure do make me laugh, pretty bird."

Behind Zephyr, Venus stood up. Her frightened face then became replaced by one of immense fury. Nigel continued taunting Zephyr but his voice tone then changed from mocking to threatening, more acidic.

"And you sure do DRIVE ME MAD!" snarled the cockatoo and with that, he raised his talon, darted it like a bullet through the cage bars and grabbed Zephyr by the neck. Zephyr gasped in shock as he was then yanked towards Nigel's face. The other macaws screamed as Nigel's blazing maniacal eyes glared into Zephyr's like icy lasers. His crest was also fully raised.

"I'm gonna slit your throat right in front of pigtails and your precious little kids, you filthy blue macaw," hissed the cockatoo murderously, but before he could even harm Zephyr, a maya blue head with two pigtail-like crests darted in and her beak clamped onto Nigel's talon… hard. A piercing screech of agony erupted from Nigel's beak as Venus clamped her beak as hard as she could. The toes around Zephyr's neck went slack and Zephyr escaped. Nigel then began to struggle to free his talon from Venus's beak but the pigtailed Spix macaw, her yellow eyes blazing volcanoes, refused to let go. Mercury and Sapphire could see the fire in them, and Venus's puffy maya blue plumage added to her terrifying angry look. Venus had never been so angry in her life. Nigel's taunting of her and Mercury has gone far enough.

"You know something, Nigel," snarled Venus stormily, her beak firmly on Nigel's talon, "I think you should have stayed back in Tulio's Aviary rather than come out on some pointless revenge quest on Blu and Jewel because of your loss of the ability to fly. You should have learned a very important lesson from the plane incident and gone off torturing exotic birds altogether."

Nigel, at this, shot Venus a malicious glare.

"Have you not been paying attention, pigtails?" he growled in irritation but when he felt Venus's beak clamp ever harder onto his talon, Nigel gasped in painful shock. While Nigel was distracted with Venus holding him by the talon, Collette, Cobalto and Esperanza, who had been sent in by Catina to help draw the cats and crows' attention away from the caged birds, watched on in horror.

"That cockatoo's threatening Venus and Mercury's family, Cobalto," hissed Collette bitterly, "Shall I…"

And with that, she leapt towards Nigel but Esperanza blocked her way.

"Not so suddenly, Collette," said Esperanza in rebuke. Cobalto then lifted a talon.

"Leave that cockatoo to me," he growled, "You two seize the caged birds."

Collette and Esperanza looked up at him and returned to their preparation position. Elsewhere, the rest of Catina's group apart from Ginger, Pluto and his family, and the chicks who remained hidden in the vegetation had positioned themselves to attack as well. Nigel continued struggling to release his talon from Venus's grasp but Venus kept her beak in an iron grip on it. A small bead of blood emerged from the spot where Venus's beak cut into Nigel's skin trickled down Nigel's ankle and onto the floor. Nigel glared at Venus with blazing brown eyes and crest raised.

"If you will NOT release me, pigtails," he snarled, "I WILL get violent."

In response, Venus jerked her head sharply downward, pulling Nigel's talon down and making the cockatoo fall onto his back near the cage's floor. Then another talon appeared and clamped onto the cockatoo's neck. Nigel looked up in shock to see a pair of green flames glare at him. Zephyr then tightened his grip around Nigel's neck and lowered his face towards the cockatoo's.

"Do you want Blu and Jewel to brutally claw ya?" he snarled. Nigel glared back at him.

"Why don't you and your pretty pigtailed girl do that instead?" he asked. Venus winced at the thought of doing that. As vile as Nigel was, she did not want to viciously attack him for no reason for it was not in her nature. Blu and Jewel, however, relished that idea. Then suddenly, the sounds of cat and crow screeches erupted from nearby, with some dog barks and parrot squawks thrown into the mix.

"Now what's going on?" snarled Brisa who had been watching Zephyr and Venus restrain Nigel. At this, all eyes turned and saw the source of the noise. To their surprise, it came from the cats and the crows and they were chasing some animals across the clearing. Those animals were some greyhounds and some macaws and they appeared to be luring the cats and crows to somewhere. While Blu's group including Venus and Zephyr glared at the commotion going on with the animals, Nigel seized the opportunity to break free from Zephyr and Venus's restraints. He raised his head and bit down onto Zephyr's foot as hard as he could. Painful cries exploded from Zephyr's beak and he jumped and grabbed his wounded talon. As soon as his neck restraint was free, Nigel jumped up and attempted to claw Venus with his free talon to get her to release his foot but she promptly raised a talon and brought it down hard across Nigel's stomach, tearing his vest. Nigel gasped in shock as more gashes opened up in the only thing concealing the unsightly mess on his ragged torso plumage. Nigel then spat directly into Venus's face and made her release his foot. Venus gasped in disgust and began to wipe her face of the saliva. Then Nigel prepared to grab Zephyr in order to injure him, not aware that a cobalt blue form with a rich yellow front and blue bib-like mark had crept up behind him.

"Now ya gonna DIE, you filthy BLUE BIRD!" he snarled and with that, he reached a talon into the cage and grabbed Zephyr by the neck once again. The others gasped in horror and Venus got prepared to attack once again when, "Drop that Spix macaw at ONCE, you psychotic piece of work!"

Then before Nigel could deduce the voice's owner, searing pain exploded from his lower back. At this, the cockatoo released Zephyr and leapt into the air, grasping his scratched back. Cobalto looked up smugly as Collette and Esperanza dashed in. The caliby and the greyhound's paws darted towards Blu and Jewel's cage and the cage hold Zephyr and the others and the two mammals rushed off for the cover of the ferns, taking the caged Spix macaws with them. Then a red, blue and green streak appeared as Cobalto continued tackling Nigel and knocking him down each time the cockatoo stood up. Mars made a beeline for Mercury and his family and shoved the flat chisel-like end of the screwdriver into the padlock.

"Mars," cried Mercury in joy. Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette looked on as Mars, after briefly shooting them an approving glance, picked the padlock with the screwdriver. After a few seconds of twiddling the padlock with the tool, the U-shaped lock clicked out of the padlock's locking mechanism. This done, Mars tossed the padlock away and opened the door, allowing Mercury and his family to flee. Mars then set to freeing Roberto and Brisa when suddenly, "Put the screwdriver down!"

At this, Mars's eyes darted this way and that when suddenly, a yellow talon with lethally sharp claws appeared and grabbed him by the neck. Brisa and Roberto cried in horror as the green-winged macaw was plucked out of the air like a fly, his screwdriver clattering onto the floor in front of Roberto and Brisa's cage. Felipe and the others winced in horror as Cazador then looked Mars in the eye.

"You're not freein' any MORE of these birds, you escaped red pest," snarled the falcon fiercely. Mars struggled in the falcon's talon, timidly aware of how close his claws were to the vital blood vessels that ran through his neck. Nearby, Cobalto continued battling Nigel, too engrossed to see the danger Mars was in at Cazador's clutches. At this, Collette, after setting Blu and Jewel's cage down in the ferns, looked back and drew in a horrified gasp when she saw Cazador hold Mars. Fuelled by rage, the caliby dashed back towards the area of the caged birds, making a beeline for Cazador who held Mars by the neck.

"Collette, get BACK HERE!" cried Esperanza but Collette did not reply. Then as soon as she was out in the open, with an enraged cat screech and a powerful propulsion off the ground with her hind legs, Collette leapt towards Cazador, her forepaw claws protracted ready to scratch.

"You release that green-ringed macaw this MINUTE, you ROTTEN VULTURE!" she bellowed as she flew towards Cazador. Cazador, at this, turned his attention from Mars to Collette as she continued flying towards him. From their cages Brisa, Roberto, Felipe, Enrique, Benjamin, Regina, Alfonso, Roxie, Maximillian, Elena, Monique and Ray watched in utter astonishment as the young caliby pounced onto Cazador and knocked him off of Roberto and Brisa's cage. Cazador cried in shock and his grip on Mars became slack, allowing Mars to be released. Hastily, the green-winged macaw snatched the screwdriver from the ground and inserted it into the padlock locking Brisa and Roberto in their cage as Collette and Cazador landed onto the brown soil and tumbled violently. Cobalto continued fighting Nigel, using his flying ability to keep out of the way of the deranged cockatoo's beak and talon attacks much to Nigel's utter disgust and dismay when he heard the sound of a cat screech and a falcon grunting. At this, he stopped combating Nigel and turned his eyes in the source of the sounds' direction. When he saw that one of Veggie and Catina's daughters had pounced onto Cazador, horror tore through him. Nigel also saw Collette as she recovered from her tumble with Cazador and rose to her feet and rushed off towards her, and seeing that Cobalto's focus on him was broken, the wicked cockatoo picked up a rock and threw it as hard as he could at Cobalto. Cobalto was struck in the head by the rock and knocked out of the air, much to the horror of Esperanza who had been watching the blue-throated macaw combat the cockatoo. Cobalto fell limply on the ground, unconscious and with some blood oozing from his head where the rock hit. Nigel shot the unconscious male blue-throated macaw a sadistic grin.

"I'll be back to slit your throat, pretty bird," he crooned and with that, he strode off in Collette's direction. When Esperanza saw Nigel leave Cobalto, she dashed over to the blue-throated macaw's side to take him to safety.

As Collette stood up and shook her head to eliminate the dizziness from the tumbling, Cazador eyed her with his large, piercing eyes ablaze with rage.

"You sure don't know when to quit or keep your pesky little kitten noses out of this business, do you, cat?" he snarled and began to pace towards Collette. Collette then took up a defensive stance. Her fur which had a mix of her mother's calico blotches and her father's stripes painted across the white canvas puffed out and her hazel eyes became hazel flames. Her mouth dropped open, her back arched and her claws protracted from her paws. A hiss then began to flow through her mouth. However, Cazador continued advancing towards Collette, unfazed by her threatening posture.

"Your cat defence doesn't scare me, feline brat," he snarled. Collette continued hissing and then gently backed away as Cazador continued approaching her. Nigel continued advancing towards the caliby. Tens of metres away, Catina and the others continued luring the cats and crows away from the caged birds, Lysandre and the other humans walking in, the commotion caused by the animals having alerted them. As they continued to lure the cats and crows away, Catina hidden by the group such that Otis and his gang have yet to see her, Veggie shot a glance across the clearing. When he saw Collette confront Cazador, horror tore within him. Collette continued trying to intimidate Cazador with her defensive pose. Behind Cazador, Mars continued freeing the caged birds. He had set Roberto and Brisa free and they had escaped into the ferns while Mars moved onto rescuing Felipe, eyes darting to Cazador and Nigel who were distracted by Collette. Collette then increased the intensity of her hiss towards Cazador, though wary of how dangerous the falcon was with his lethal beak and talons, unaware that Nigel was walking towards her. While she kept Cazador occupied, Esperanza took Cobalto's limp body to the ferns and left him to the care of Roberto and Brisa before turning her attention to Nigel as he continued advancing towards Collette. Nearby, Mars had managed to free Felipe and then Enrique and Felipe's chicks and they escaped into the ferns to hide with Roberto and Brisa, Mars turning his attention to Maximillian, Roxie and Elena. Mars continuously stole glances at Cazador as Collette continued to keep him occupied. However, the caliby was too engrossed in keeping Cazador occupied to notice that a deranged cockatoo was heading her way.

"You know something, falcon," snarled Collette bitterly, "It's not normally in my nature to hurt birds, but given the choice, I could seriously injure you with one swipe of a paw."

"Oh, yeah, and how are you gonna manage my lethal talons and beak, cat?" retorted Cazador rhetorically. He then raised a talon to show Collette the lethal sickle-like claws on the ends of the toes. Collette flashed a look of alarm.

"These talons are sharp enough to fatally disembowel a pigeon," snarled the falcon threateningly, "If they can do that to a pigeon, they can kill a cat, and I won't hesitate to use these claws if you don't do as I say."

Collette continued standing there, despite the danger she was putting herself in. Nigel continued striding towards her, a murderous, deranged and feral gaze flaring up on his face as he prepared his talons to possibly kill Collette the moment he pounced onto her. As he continued advancing towards Collette, Esperanza ran towards him from behind and then as soon as she was close to Nigel, she raised a paw and swiped the cockatoo down. a cry of surprise escaped Nigel's beak as he found himself flying for about a metre and crashing into the dirt. Then Esperanza rushed towards Nigel and took up a threatening position, her teeth bared and her throat and lips vibrating to the waves of a growl. Esperanza's attack on Nigel had attracted the attention of Collette, Mars and Veggie and Dash. When they saw that the young greyhound was confronting the highly dangerous cockatoo, horror tore through them. Nigel then stood up and eyed Esperanza with the most murderous look Esperanza had ever seen. With Collette distracted, Cazador was about to attack the caliby when he heard the voice of one of the crows.

"Cazador," called the crow, "Swoop, Bryony and Xerosic have returned and they look like they've been beaten up."

At this, Cazador abandoned his idea of attacking Collette and took off after the crow to meet his three minions. Nigel locked his brown flames of eyes onto Esperanza. His crest was flared and his face was a mess from all the scratches he had received.

"So, you have decided to risk facing my fury in attacking me, huh?" growled the cockatoo aggressively. Esperanza glared back at Nigel, her eyes ocean blue firestorms. She practically looked terrifying. Her back hairs were on end and her tail was tucked between her back legs. Her ears were pointed back and her teeth were fully exposed.

"You seriously have caused us enough trouble for everyone, you disgusting vulture," Esperanza snarled fiercely, "Especially for Veggie's family, Blu and Jewel, and Venus and Mercury's families as well."

A mocking snicker escaped Nigel's beak.

"Well, that's a brilliant thing," he crooned, "I love seein' pretty birds suffer immense heartbreak with a deep emotional scar carved into them, be it watchin' their loved ones bleed and die in utter agony, or torn away from their kids or parents. The screams of distressed pretty birds are purely music to my ears."

Esperanza winced at how murderous Nigel was and had become. Not wanting to hear any more of Nigel's evil and bloodthirsty remarks about 'pretty birds', Esperanza lurched forward and lashed a paw at the cockatoo. Nigel dodged and retaliated with a snake-like hiss right into Esperanza's face, his crest flared, eyes bulging like grapes and spittle flying. Esperanza flinched harshly and backed away before resuming her threat posture. Then the cockatoo and greyhound began to circle around a point. Fierce growls escaped Esperanza's throat while a snake-like hiss filtered through Nigel's beak. Both opponents were locked in fighting postures, eyes piercing each other like lasers and feathers or fur puffed out. Collette, Veggie and Dash watched on in horror. Nearby, Mars had managed to free the last of the caged birds, Monique and Ray and they escaped into the ferns as well. Then after a few more seconds of circling, Esperanza lurched forward and attempted to bite Nigel but the cockatoo jumped upward to avoid her snapping jaws. Then what came next sent horror tearing through the watchers, especially Dash. Nigel then landed onto Esperanza's back and then with all his might, began to score his claws into the greyhound's skin while clamping his beak onto Esperanza's shoulder. An extremely agonised howl erupted explosively from Esperanza's mouth. Esperanza's name exploded out of Dash's mouth as he watched the feral-minded cockatoo injure his daughter. Then Nigel knocked Esperanza down and began to unleash his furious wrath over the greyhound, his mind completely warped by his explosive temper.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30- birds vs poachers part 1**

Swoop, Xerosic and Bryony were a right state. All three looked battered and bruised and visibly shaken. They were also breathless for they had been flying very fast as though they had been chased by a predator. As the three lighted down, they were met by Cazador, the crows and some of Lysandre's underlings including Ernesto. One of the underlings had left to fetch Lysandre.

"What on earth has happened to you three?" demanded Cazador, shocked by the three falcons' appearance. Xerosic was the first to speak.

"We found ourselves confronted by an enormous flock of macaws," he said, "And some of them attacked us. We only managed to escape but now that flock of macaws is on its way here."

"On its way?" asked Cazador.

"There were so many macaws that we just turned tail and fled," said Bryony, her eyes wide with terror, "It appears that hundreds of them have been alerted to our presence and…"

Then she began to shudder. A look of frustration then crossed Cazador's face.

"You're all so USELESS!" he snarled. Then the leader of the poachers rushed in. When Lysandre saw the state of Xerosic, Bryony and Swoop, his face became laced with surprise. These three should have brought back some macaws like last time but it appeared that they had not succeeded. At this moment, in the vegetation, Mars had freed Venus, Zephyr and the nine Spix macaw chicks and last of all, Blu and Jewel, using his screwdriver to pick the padlocks, and the group, especially Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago, had shared a reunion hug, and Zephyr, Venus, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil had been joined by Brisa and Roberto. Roberto was especially glad to be out of that cage. Being captured and shoved into one had triggered a flood of horrible memories of his capture and eventual abuse at the hands of the human girl when he was her pet, with 'Polly wanna cracker? Polly wanna cracker?' repeating torturously in his mind, which was why he was flooded with terror in the cage. Nearby, Felipe was hugging his chicks Benjamin, Regina and Alfonso, who were also glad to be out of their cages. Monique and Ray hugged Sapphire, Mercury, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette while Ginger helped Cobalto, who had been knocked unconscious by Nigel when he threw a rock at him, to his feet, and he was surrounded by his sons Wilbur, Azul and Aurelio. Mars looked on edge. When Nigel had begun to take his anger out on Esperanza, Mars had tried to fly in to help but Dash had yelled at him to free the other caged birds, which he did. Seeing Nigel explode into a volcanic frenzy through losing his temper had visibly spooked Mars for it reminded him of how Brutus used to turn violent whenever he lost his temper. But he was glad that the remaining birds had been freed. Then after the groups had broken their hugs, Blu and Jewel prepared for action.

"Right, time to deal with those wretched poachers," snarled Blu fiercely.

"And that slime-ball Nigel," put in Jewel, eager to sink her claws and beak into her most detested cockatoo's flesh. Carla, Bia and Tiago stood by Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre and the other chicks that had remained hidden in the ferns all this time while their parents dealt with the poachers' pets with Veggie and the other mammals, apart from Ginger due to her pregnancy. Then the fluttering sounds from beating wings filled the group's ears. Chiquitita, Uranus, Esmeralda, Neptune, Ultramarine, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli and Ceres had managed to return after causing havoc for the cats and crows to keep them occupied. When they saw that the other birds had been freed from their cages, they were joyful.

"Well done, Mars," said Neptune, "You've managed to rescue all the caged birds including the recently captured ones."

Mars sighed and glanced at the screwdriver.

"And thank you for keeping those poachers and their pets occupied in the process as well," said the green-winged macaw in an edgy voice.

"You should have seen Pluto," said Lapis Lazuli, "He managed to claw Otis across the face."

Then Pluto began to look around.

"Wait, where are Dash and the others?" he asked. Ginger, at this, was struck with dread, but then a four legged mammal walked in.

"The others are taking Esperanza to safety," said the creature, a cat named Veggie. When Felipe and the other wild birds saw Veggie, they were stricken with terror, typical prey reaction to their natural predator.

"Whoa, whoa, it's alright," Mars said, trying to calm them, "He may be our natural enemy but he's on our side."

Felipe flashed him a shocked glare.

"What!?" he retorted.

"But he resembles one of those feline creatures called a margay," said Roberto, "Except that he's smaller and wears that thing around his neck."

"I'm a housecat, actually," said Veggie, "From a human city."

The wild birds then dived behind the macaws who were used to Veggie. Veggie smiled when he saw that Blu, Venus and their families had been freed.

"Venus, Blu, Zephyr, the rest of you Spix macaws," he said joyfully, "Glad to see you out of your cages at last."

Jewel breathed a sigh of relief. "You could say that again, Veg," she said. She absolutely loathed cages. Blu nodded in agreement. Then Blu saw the look on Veggie's face fall from joyful to one of sadness. His ears also fell, as they always did whenever a cat was in a low mood.

"What's happened?" Blu asked concerned. Veggie looked up at him. Zephyr, Venus, Mercury, Sapphire and the others, especially Ginger, looked back at the tabby cat, the wild birds including Roberto peering out from behind their human-place adapted friends, shocked to see that Veggie was friendly towards the macaws despite his species. Veggie then flashed a saddened look at Ginger, feeling reluctant to tell her but he had to.

"Esperanza's been badly attacked by Nigel," he murmured. Horror tore through the group.

"No," said Mercury. Venus and Jewel raised their wings to their beaks and made sad faces while Blu looked on in disbelief. Mars then looked at them.

"I saw him enter into a temper outburst and brutally attack her," he said, "But that's all as my first priority was getting all the captured birds out of those cages."

"Luckily, I, Dash, and Collette rushed in and managed to pry Nigel off of her before he could inflict any more damage on her but Nigel had escaped and run off into hiding," said Veggie, "Dash and the others have moved Esperanza to the safety of Tulio and his team's copter where she'll be safe but she's been badly clawed…"

Ginger's eyes pricked with horror and she immediately rushed off in the direction of Tulio's helicopter. Roberto went to follow his friend but Brisa placed a wing on his shoulder and shook her head, feeling it was inappropriate for him to see Esperanza's state. The other macaws looked on in utter horror. Then a look of outrage flared on Blu and Jewel's face.

"I'm gonna FLAY that cockatoo when we find him," snarled Jewel ferociously. Then Blu made a gruesome statement about Nigel much to the horror of the group. Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil covered their ears to block out the foul music. During this, Ultramarine flew towards the clearing, having noticed something a bit odd about the trees on the other side of the deforested area. As she left, Neptune flashed a determined face.

"But the battle against the poachers is not over yet," he growled.

"Absolutely," said Sapphire, "We need to do something about those intruders."

Veggie was about to reply when Ultramarine's voice shouted the whole group over.

"Guys," she said, her voice laced with excitement, "You'd better come and take a look at this."

At this, the other macaws and Veggie exchanged glances and walked over to Ultramarine. Meanwhile, the poaching group was sorting themselves out. Aliana and Cometa had also returned and Lysandre and his underlings were surveying the battered cats and crows. The cats and crows were terribly battered, and Otis bore a scratch mark across his face, inflicted on him by Pluto during the skirmish. Lysandre was boiling with frustration that the falcons did not return with any more macaws and also over something else. As he examined the empty cages where the caged macaws were, he slammed a hand over one of them.

"You wretched fools!" he snarled to some of the underlings including John, "How could you possibly let those macaws escape?"

"B-b-b-but sir," stammered John timidly as the group leader strode towards him, "I-I-I-I thought those macaws weren't able to escape at all…"

As he said this, this, some of the cats and crows looked over the empty cages dumbfounded as to how the macaws had disappeared. They were covered in cuts and bruises from the skirmish with Dash and his group a whole ago.

"But how!?" shouted Adriana in disbelief as Tom looked into one of the cages.

"They must have found a way to escape while we were occupied with those pesky cats, greyhounds and macaws," said Paws with a frustrated frown. Then Tom shot him a suspicious glare.

"Do you think that those offspring and mate of Catina and their greyhound friends, who have managed to escape their shackles in the cargo bay of that copter in which we stashed them might have had backup that had allowed the macaws to escape?" he asked. The other cats and crows looked back at him as the same conclusion and realisation dawned upon them. Tom's eyes narrowed at the possibility.

"Those PESKY friends of Blu and company, honestly!" he snarled, slamming a paw against the empty cage, "I'm gonna kill those snoopers if we ever find them again..."

"At least Nigel has given one of them greyhounds a piece of his mind," said Moggy sadistically. Her eyes then darted this way and that. "Where has that cockatoo gone, anyway?"

"I don't know but we've got to get those macaws back and caged pronto," said one of the crows, "One, the sky's clouding over; and two, those real ecologists are gonna return any moment…"

The cats and crows looked upward and saw that the sky's blue canvas had been screened by thickening grey clouds. Rain was not far away now and Moggy thought she had heard a thunderclap in the distance. While the cats and the crows continued pondering over how the macaws had managed to escape, a shriek of some of the underlings reached their ears. At this, Tom snapped his gaze from the empty cage to one of the women and saw that her face was twisted into one of horror. Her mouth was open and her eyes were widened and she looked pale. It was though she was seeing a monster.

"Now what's up!?" snarled Tom. At this, the other cats and crows also turned their eyes in the woman's direction and when they saw what she was seeing, their eyes widened and mouths or beaks dropped open as well. Tom followed their gaze and gasped. Cazador, Bryony, Swoop, Aliana, Xerosic and Cometa also dropped open their beaks as well, as did the other human underlings. Lysandre continued lambasting John and two other underlings over the macaws' disappearance when another underling, Ernesto, ran in.

"Lysandre, sir," he called.

"What!?" snapped Lysandre irritably.

"You need to take a look at this," said Ernesto. At this, John and the other two with him turned and when they saw what Ernesto was pointing to, their faces morphed into horrified looks. Lysandre followed their gazes and drew in a sharp gasp when his eyes landed on the something the other poachers and their pets' eyes were gazing at. The trees directly in front of the poachers were swarmed by birds, macaws to be exact, of various colours. However, the mass of red, blue, turquoise, navy blue, green, yellow and orange did not look friendly one bit. The faces of each of the macaws were thunderous, and their fiery eyes gazed down at the poachers and their pets. All their feathers were bristled and they looked terrifying. Amongst the enormous flock of macaws were a spot of white and yellow, another spot of pale pink and three smaller spots of white-pink. Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa stood perched next to Eduardo and Mimi while Jupiter, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto stood next to Pearl, and Saturn, Orquidea, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus stood next to Soleado, Zoie and some of the blue-and-gold macaws. Like all the other macaws, these three families' eyes were looks of storms flashing with lightning. Travis, Jupiter and Saturn and their families must have rounded up the macaw tribes and clans to return and deal with the poachers and now the enormous flock of various macaw species (Spix, scarlet, green-winged, blue-and-gold, great green, military, Lear's, glaucous, blue-throated and hyacinth) were ready for action against the poachers. From their hiding place, Veggie, and Mercury, Venus, Mars, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto, Blu and their families, and Felipe, Enrique, Benjamin, Regina, Alfonso from the red tribe, Brisa and Roberto from the Spix tribe, and Monique and Ray from the Lear's macaw tribe smiled widely.

"All right," shouted Felipe joyfully. His eyes then picked out Pearl who stood next to Jupiter and Ruby, which made him smile even more.

"Eduardo and Mimi," shouted Roberto as he saw the Spix tribe patriarch and his sister next to Travis and Sunset. Blu and Jewel also smiled as they saw the two in the trees.

"And Valentino and Waldo and Rosalind," shouted Monique as she saw the two macaws amongst the Lear's and green macaws. Sapphire and Mercury also smiled when they saw Sapphire's half-brother and the Lear's tribe patriarch and his mate stand in front of some of the Lear's macaws with Alonso and Verde.

"There's Flavio and Marinho, Violeta, Demetrio and the other leaders," shouted Ultramarine excitedly.

"And Rudi and Valeria," said Lapis Lazuli.

"Soleado," said Orquidea.

"And the blue-throated macaw clan," added Cobalto joyfully when he saw the clan's leaders, Reynaldo and Anita, stand near Demetrio and Violeta.

"They're all here," said Chiquitita.

"And it looks like they are ready to rumble as well," said Zephyr. Veggie shot the group a glare.

"Well, when they do, you'd better get prepared to help out," he said. The moment he said this, the sound of flapping wings startled him. Veggie whipped round and saw Felipe, Roberto, Brisa and some of the other macaws fly out of the ferns, by the wall of trees and towards the flock of macaws. The rest of the macaws followed. On the way out, Blu said to Veggie, "You look after the other cats and dogs, especially Esperanza while we see to the poachers."

And with that, he tore off after Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago. Veggie shouted, "Be careful!" but the macaws were already out of earshot. The group of macaws continued flying close to the wall of trees bordering the area towards the colourful flock and as soon as they were near them, the macaws split up to find their relatives and friends. Eduardo gazed down at the group of humans standing in the clearing.

"So those are the poachers?" he asked Travis.

"Yes," said Travis in a low voice, "They were the ones who sent out those falcons to catch you, the Lear's macaws and the glaucous macaws."

"Well then," said Mimi fiercely, "Humans like that should not be anywhere near our home or on the sanctuary. This is a protected reserve where logging and poaching is supposed to have reduced. We must deal with those creeps at once."

"And also rescue Roxie and the others who were taken away," said Tornado nearby. He had heard what had happened to Nuvem's group during their outing, as had Gael and Viento, Nuvem's father. Suddenly, Gaels' wing shot out and pointed at something.

"Look," she cried. At this, Eduardo and Mimi's eyes followed Gael's pointed wing and saw some colourful shapes approach them. At this, recognition swept through Eduardo and the others.

"Blu, Jewel, Roberto, grandkids!" shouted Eduardo as the group melted into view.

"Zephyr, Brisa, Venus, our grandkids as well," shouted Gael jubilantly. As the said Spix macaws approached Eduardo and the others around him with Roxie, Elena and Maximillian close behind, Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago made a beeline for Eduardo and Mimi and collided with them in a group hug while Venus, Zephyr, Brisa, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil flew over to Tornado, Gael, Viento and Nuvem and also shared a reunion hug with them. Travis and Sunset with Eustace, Milo and Rosa looked on with smiles on their faces.

"Venus, Zephyr, Blu, Jewel," shouted Travis joyfully, "Brilliant! You've managed to escape your prisons."

Blu and Jewel broke their hug with Eduardo and Mimi.

"When you five told us that my daughter had been captured, I had been stricken with terror," said Eduardo in a shaky voice. However, his voice smoothed out as he glanced at Jewel, glad that she was safe with her family, "But I'm glad that she, Blu and my grandkids had been freed."

"We were going to help rescue you," said Tornado as he broke the hug with Zephyr and Venus, "But it seems that you had already been freed while we were rounding everyone up to deal with these poachers."

"At least that's out of the way now," said Gael. Sunset then turned dark.

"Just make sure to watch out for those humans' nets and their falcons," she said, "They are armed with lethal talons and beaks. Also beware of those cats and crows. They are very sneaky."

"Alright, thanks for the warnings," said Eduardo. Carla, Bia and Tiago smiled and gave Travis an unexpected hug, much to the cockatoo's shock.

"Thanks for bringing Pop-Pop along, Mr Travis," said Carla.

"And alerting everyone about the poachers," said Bia. Travis smiled and hugged the three chicks back, the others looking on with smiles. Nearby, amongst the crowd of red macaws, Felipe, Benjamin, Regina and Alfonso and Pearl had shared a reunion moment, together with Jupiter, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. When Jupiter and Ruby's chicks saw Felipe and Pearl's chicks, which Pearl introduced to, they were excited to finally have cousins, Mars, Chiquitita, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre looking on happily. Elsewhere, Sapphire, Mercury, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette had reunited with Waldo, Rosalind, Valentino and their friends, as had Uranus, Esmeralda, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon with their friends from the green tribe including Alonso, Neptune, Ultramarine, Triton and Indigo with Flavio, Marinho and their friends, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Charon, Blueberry, Flor and Quincy with their family and friends including Rudi and Valeria amongst the glaucous macaw tribe, and Cobalto, Ceres, Wilbur, Aurelio and Azul with their friends from the blue-throated macaw clan and the Bluewing hyacinth macaws. Saturn, Orquidea, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus also shared a brief reunion with their freed friends as well. Then after the reunions had finished, the birds all focussed on their most important task: dealing with the poachers. They all glared fiercely down at the intruders. All the macaws in this enormous flock had been told about these intruders and they knew that they were not supposed to be anywhere near their homes for this was a protected reserve, set up by two of Blu's human friends who truly cared for the existence of the particularly rare species, the Spix, the Lear's and the glaucous macaws. On the ground, Lysandre and his group glared back at the huge flock of angry birds. Otis and his gang stood there, utterly aghast, and the six falcons and the crows also gazed at the flock with surprised eyes. Lysandre then frowned.

"Everyone, prepare your net guns," he commanded. Most of the underlings obeyed but John, overcome with fear and uncertainty, tried to run away but a hand reached out and grabbed his coat.

"Where do you think YOU'RE going, you coward?" snarled Lysandre. Then with a powerful tug, he hauled John back with the group.

"Ready your net gun this MINUTE!" Lysandre barked. John did so, but he still shook with fear.

"Er, sir," he began, "I don't think this is a…"

"Oh, shut up you big baby," snapped Lysandre irritably, "They're just a bunch of useless pigeons worth a lot of money. Now get ready!"

John, despite his fear and uncertainty bubbling within him, obeyed and stood with the other underlings. Otis and his group also prepared for action at Cazador's command.

"Crows, you too," barked Cazador and the crows spread their wings, poised to take off. Swoop, Xerosic, Aliana and Bryony also took up a ready stance despite three of them bearing quite some nasty injuries, and Cometa did the same but reluctantly. Cazador wore a determined look on his face. He was not going to allow things to veer off course this time and was hoping to catch as many as the macaws as possible. Cazador then eyed the flock of angry macaws.

"So, if you lot would rather come to us than the other way round, then so be it," he snarled under his breath. The macaws watched the poachers as they prepared for action. Mars examined their body language and facial expressions.

"They don't look afraid, Felipe," he said. Felipe, however, did not care.

"Well, that will soon change, Mars, when we attack," he growled, "And I hope they do turn tail and run back."

"Yeah," snarled Pearl ferociously. Jupiter and his family flashed them a glance before focussing on the poachers, their feathers puffed out. The other macaws from the green, Lear's, blue-and-gold, and glaucous tribes and the two hyacinth macaw clans and blue-throated macaw clan also prepared for action. Then a silent faceoff started. Every macaw's pairs of eyes fixed upon the poachers and vice versa. In the sky, the rainclouds continued to gather and rain was not too far away now. A rumble of thunder sounded. From his hiding place, Veggie prepared for action with Catina, Collette, Daisy and Thomas, Avellana, James and Danny who had returned to help him. Dash, Eduarda and Ginger had stayed behind to look after the battered Esperanza and her three younger siblings were rather shaken after what Nigel had done to her but they did not care about that at the moment. Their main priority was helping the macaws deal with these poachers. Then after another minute of silence Blu shattered it with the shout.

"Alright then," he barked so that all the macaws could hear, "You all know what to do. If you have fought against those loggers, you know our rule. For those of you who haven't, here it is."

He then nodded to Zephyr who barked, "Birds of blue, navy blue, red, green, turquoise, grey, orange and yellow feathers…"

"And white and pink," said Travis. Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa nodded in agreement.

"HAVE TO STICK TOGETHER!" bellowed everyone else. Then with a loud shout, all the macaws spread their wings and the first ones took off. Next, an enormous avalanche of various coloured feathers cascaded down from the trees and towards the poachers.

"NOOOW!" shouted Lysandre, unafraid of the avalanche of macaws headed for his group, and with that, bangs filled the air over the storm cloud of enraged squawks exploding from the macaws as nets flew out of their guns and flew towards the macaws. However, many of them missed as the macaws dodged. Then the crows stepped forward. At Cazador's command, they opened their wings and took off into the air, directly towards the avalanche of macaws. Swoop, Aliana, Bryony and Xerosic followed while the cats prepared empty cages. Then within seconds, the poachers were swarmed by the giant mass of colourful feathers. Bangs from net guns, along with enraged macaw squawks continued to sound but soon, agonised human cries filled the air as well as the poachers began to face a barrage of talons and beaks to their heads and shoulders. Three of the poachers actually ran with their hands covering their heads as a small flock of Spix, red and blue-and-gold macaws battered them with pecks and scratches while the others fired net guns at more macaws only to miss. Two or three nets, however, managed to hit their targets. A Spix macaw and a military macaw from Alonso's tribe were caught and sent plummeting towards the ground. Then as soon as they had hit the ground, Otis and his gang ran in and took them away. Back in the air, more macaws rushed at the poachers and scratched their faces and shoulders when suddenly, five grey and ivory streaks, accompanied by smaller black streaks rushed in and began to chase some macaws around like a dolphin after a shoal of sardines. However, the macaws fought back and soon, an aerial battle between them and the crows and falcons ensued.

Mercury and Sapphire, together with Waldo, Valentino and Monique and some other Lear's macaws, dived down like a swarm of bees upon three of the poachers including Gale. The three poachers aimed their net guns and tried to trap the Lear's macaws but the navy blue and dark teal birds dodged and attacked. Mercury then swooped in and charged into Gale's chest, knocking her back and making her drop her gun. As Gale shook herself too, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette were upon her. The three little Lear's macaw chicks smothered her face and shoulders with claw marks and bites, making the female human cry in pain and cover her face and head with her arms but the three sisters continued their vicious attack. Mercury and Sapphire then joined in the fray. Nearby, the other two poachers, both male, were lashing their hands and guns at the other Lear's macaws as they attacked. Waldo lunged at one of them and slashed his face with his talons when suddenly; a pair of human hands appeared and grabbed him. Waldo then screeched and struggled in the poacher's hands but the poacher kept a firm grip on him.

"Waldo," shouted Mercury as he saw the Lear's macaw struggle in the poacher's hands while he and his family continued their assault on Gale. Waldo continued writhing but the poacher restrained him. Seeing that Waldo was struggling to escape the poacher's grasp, Sapphire rushed in and with all her might sank her beak into the poacher's hands to get him to release her half-brother. An ear-piercing scream erupted from the man's mouth and as soon as his grip on Waldo became slack, Waldo escaped. Then the other man came in and tried to whack Sapphire with his net gun but the Lear's macaw rocketed upward, sending the gun's barrel smashing into the first man's hip. The man then cried again and grasped his side, the other one looking on apologetically.

"Sorry, mate," he said, "I was aiming for that macaw."

The hurt man, at this, looked up at his accomplice with eyes blazing with fire. Then he stood up, snatched the net gun out of the other man's arms and began to pelt him with it. Swearwords and other foul words erupted out of his mouth as he did it. Waldo retreated with Sapphire, Mercury, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette by his side, Valentino not too far away.

"Well done, Sapphire," said Valentino, "You've saved your half-brother from certain capture."

Waldo then flashed Sapphire a grateful glance as Sapphire smiled. But then she turned serious.

"Let's help the others," she said. The other Lear's macaws cheered and with that, they flew away to find where to help. Elsewhere, some green, blue-and-gold and hyacinth macaws were causing a lot of havoc for more poachers. Uranus, Esmeralda, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon helped Lewin and Luis throw fruit and rocks at two of the women as they tried firing net guns at some blue-and-gold macaws while Saturn, together with Orquidea, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus, led some blue-and-gold macaws in an attack dive on three more men. An arrow of blue, yellow and green rockets then dived down on the three men, making them cry and scatter. Saturn flew in and clawed another man across the face as he struggled with a green-winged macaw in his arms, allowing the green-winged macaw to escape. As he did this, Uranus flew in and threw another rock at another poacher, clouting him on the head and knocking him down.

"Have you seen Nigel anywhere?" puffed Uranus as he hovered to catch his breath.

"I don't know where he's gone but he's not important at the moment," said Saturn when suddenly, "LOOK OUT!"

At this, the blue-and-gold macaw and great green macaw looked up and, to their horror, they saw a grey and ivory bird, its grape-like eyes ablaze with anger, swoop down on them. At the last second, a lush blue blur shot in and tackled both Uranus and Saturn out of the falcon's path. The falcon, which was Swoop, at this, shook his head in confusion, before changing direction. Saturn and Uranus, together with Roberto who had tackled them out of Swoop's way in time, then stopped into a hover as the falcon then flew up and prepared for another attack. He had very nearly clawed Saturn and struck Uranus during his first attack.

"Thanks, Roberto," said Saturn. Roberto flashed him an approving glance before fixing his eyes on the falcon. Brisa flew in to help.

"Is that one of the poacher's birds?" he asked.

"Yes," said Uranus, "It's a falcon but these poachers also have crows."

Then Swoop hovered towards them and prepared to fight.

"I'm gonna get you this time, you wretched parrots," he snarled. At this, Saturn hovered up to him and retorted, "I think not, you pest!"

Then Swoop, with a loud cry, lunged towards the four macaws. The macaws all scattered, making Swoop's attack miss again. As Swoop turned round, Uranus jumped in and landed on his back. Swoop, at this, began to shake his body this way and that to dislodge the great green macaw from his back but Uranus clung on like a rodeo on a wild bull.

"Get off me, you wretched green menace!" snarled the falcon and with that, he tried to turn round and bite Uranus but the macaw raked his talons into Swoop's back. An agonised cry exploded from Swoop's beak and he jerked violently upwards. This time, Uranus was sent flying. As he managed to regain control and balance, Swoop prepared to lunge at him when suddenly, a green, red, yellow and blue comet rushed in and bashed into his side. Swoop gasped in shock as Esmeralda sent him flying. Then Orquidea rushed in and landed another charging head butt square in Swoop's stomach, sending the falcon flying towards the ground and crashing into one of his owner's head. As Swoop and the poacher collapsed Uranus, Saturn, Orquidea, Esmeralda and Brisa and Roberto hi-fived one another with their talons. Nearby, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, Oberon, together with Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus and more blue-and-gold and green chicks, toyed with four more poachers. One of them, a glasses-wearing woman, was swiping her hands at Mimas and Enceladus as they flew around her head and nipped her ears and face. Then Mimas flew in and snatched the woman's glasses, making the woman gasp as her sight-correcting device was taken away.

"This sure is fun," said Enceladus as he then pulled on the woman's hair, "Confusing these bad guys."

Mimas then dropped the glasses in the path of another poacher, another woman as she struggled with some green macaw chicks, among them Miranda and Ariel as they pecked at her face and scratched with their talons. The woman's feet continued stepping back until one of her steps landed on the glasses, crushing the glass like an eggshell. The woman did not hear the crunch of glass under her foot and continued shielding her face from the marauding green chicks. She then crashed into the first woman who had lost her glasses and the two fell in a heap. The group of blue-and-gold and green chicks then flew upward and cheered. Nearby, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus were wreaking havoc for another poacher, a man while the fourth poacher was having his hair pulled out by some more green and blue-and-gold chicks, among them Umbriel, Titania and Oberon. The first man lashed his hands at the chicks and managed to grab Tethys but the chicks retaliated by sinking her beak into the skin of his hand, making the man yelp in pain and drop her. Dione then hovered.

"Take THIS you meanie," she bellowed and with that, she swooped down and grabbed a beak-ful of the man's hair. She then tore some of the hair out of the man's head, inflicting the man with immense pain. Rhea then took her turn and tore out some more hair as well. Then Titan and then Iapetus tore their own beak-fuls of hair out of the man's head as well. Next, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon fluttered in front of the man's face and began to peck and claw him. The man was sent toppling backwards, directly over a thorny bush! The man screamed in pain as he had his backside stabbed by a bed of needles, much to the laughter of the three great green macaw chicks.

"I never saw that patch of thorns," tittered Umbriel.

"He'll be limping around for a few hours with that pain," said Titania.

"Yeah," laughed Oberon. Then the other man was sent toppling into his accomplice and he also fell backside first onto the patch of thorns. Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus actually winced as they heard the human cry in utter agony.

"That's another poacher with a pincushion for a seat," murmured Umbriel as she felt her nerves jolt at the pain. The others nodded in agreement before flying off with their friends, leaving the two men to struggle standing up, their backsides full of pin-like dots of pain from the thorns. Not too far away, more chocks were causing havoc for some more poachers. Some Spix macaw chicks were being chased by another female poacher but they were heading towards a small group of red macaw chicks as they flew away from another woman in hot pursuit. Among the small flock of Spix macaw chicks were Carla, Bia and Tiago, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil and they all wore mischievous grins on their beaks.

"I know where this is goin'," tittered Tiago mischievously. Matilda then snapped a glance at the small cloud of red chicks directly in front of their group and waved to Io, who was with Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre among the flock of red macaw chicks. Then as soon as the Spix and red chicks met, they all flew directly upward, sending their chasers crashing square into each other. The blue and red chicks all laughed as the two women fell down, dazed.

"Brilliant teamwork, everyone," shouted Io.

"By my calculations, that must be the second time a collision's like that has happened," said Bia.

"I'd add one to that equation," said Ganymede.

"We are so smart, aren't we?" shouted Carla. Suddenly, a yellow talon darted in and plucked Bia and Ganymede out of the air like flies, much to the shock of the others.

"You ain't smart enough to outsmart well-trained falcons like us, you little brats," snarled the talon's owner, Bryony, her eyes ablaze with anger. Bia and Ganymede struggled in her talon but Bryony refused to let go.

"Now it's time for you to be caged," hissed Bryony. Suddenly, five little comets, three blue and two red, rocketed in and charged into Bryony's stomach, making her drop Bia and Ganymede.

"You let my sister and Io, Europa and Callisto's brother go you big bully," snarled Tiago as he rammed his head into Bryony's belly. Then Io fluttered up and clawed Bryony across the cheek, making Bryony gasp in pain and clasp her scratched cheek. The other three that had attacked Bryony, Callisto, Justin and Charlotte then fluttered up and began to pelt Bryony with punches, scratches and bites. As they did that, Charlotte shouted to a group of Spix and red macaw chicks, among them Phobos and Deimos.

"Get a vine, quickly!" she shouted. Without hesitation, the group flew off to find one. Bryony struggled as more chick talons and beaks struck her face and neck. Then she finally snapped. With an enraged hiss, she lashed her talons at the chicks but they dodged.

"You lot are NOT gonna escape, you little BRATS!" she bellowed but then Carla boldly flew right up to her face and looked her in the eye.

"Who are you calling brats, you BRUTE!?" she rhetorically retorted and with that, she scratched Bryony's other cheek. Then Justin flew in and plucked a feather from Bryony's head, making her yelp in pain. Charlotte flew in and struck Bryony across the face with a wing, before turning sharply and striking her another five times. Bryony's head snapped this way and that as Charlotte rocketed past her head. Matilda then charged Bryony in the chest and knocked her backwards while Virgil flew in and began to pelt Bryony with more bites.

"If Uncle Rafael and Aunt Eva's chicks were here," giggled Virgil as he cheekily tugged the feathers on Bryony's cheek, "They'd have a real ball causing this big bad falcon a heap of trouble."

"Yeah, absolutely," said Tiago. Next, Europa and Alexandre jumped in and began to add more bite and claw marks to Bryony's face and upper body while the other chicks, including Bia, Carla and Tiago, and Ganymede and Callisto attacked the lower parts of Bryony's body including her wings and back. Bryony was practically swallowed under a cloud of little red and blue birds and she struggled to shake them off. Then soon, Phobos, Deimos and the other red chicks returned with a long green tendril. When Carla saw the group approach with it, she ordered all the other chicks to scatter. As the chicks did, Phobos and Deimos's group took their turn. They rocketed around Bryony and tied her up in the green vine. Bryony struggled but the green strand of the vine grew tighter and tighter with each turn the red macaws made. Then soon, the vine was so tight that Bryony could no longer flap her wings and she was sent plummeting towards the ground, the red and blue chicks looking on. They all hi-fived one another and flew off, leaving Bryony to crash onto the dirt of the ground. At this moment, Cazador came by. When he saw the falcon bound head to foot in green tendril like a mummy, he flashed his eyes in surprise.

"I've been outsmarted by a bunch of macaw brats," snarled Bryony. Cazador, at this, rolled his eyes and began to bite through the vine to free Bryony. As soon as Bryony was free from her prison of vine, she stood up and brushed the remains of green strands off her plumage.

"Now get back into the fray and CATCH SOME MACAWS!" bellowed Cazador. Bryony nodded and flew off while Cazador himself took off and began to chase some glaucous macaws as they chased some crows. Nearby, Venus, Zephyr, Jupiter, Ruby, Mars, Chiquitita, Blu, Jewel and Travis and Sunset hovered in the air with some more big rocks and fruit in their talons. Beneath them, more poachers were running around, shielding their heads with their hands from the marauding macaws. Then as soon as a group of poachers were corralled into a tight group directly below them, Blu yelled, "Alright, boys and girls, RELEASE!"

And with that, the rocks and fruit were released from their talons. They plummeted towards the group of poachers and struck them on their heads. The poachers then fell down like skittles, dazed. The macaws and two cockatoos cheered and hi-fived one another after the poachers had collapsed.

"Strike, just like in ten-pin bowling!" shouted Jupiter joyfully. When Ruby and some of the others shot him a confused look, Jupiter said, "It's a game involving ten stick things called skittles and a ball. A strike is obtained when all ten skittles are knocked down in one bowling throw."

"They certainly did fall down like skittles, didn't they?" said Mars.

"I don't think I've seen a game like that before," said Jewel. Suddenly, a familiar voice shouted, "Jewel, look OUUUT!"

Jewel, at this, spun round but before she could recognise the voice, a cerulean comet flew in and tackled her, sending her flying, moments before a spider-web like thing flew in and caught the macaw in her place. When Jewel recovered her balance, she looked down at the macaw who had tackled her but when she saw who it was and that he was netted, horror exploded within her.

"Daddy!" she cried and dived down after him. Blu and the others followed.

"Eduardo, NO!" shouted Jupiter. The macaw, which was Eduardo, struggled in the net as he continued to fall until he finally crashed onto the ground. Then seconds later, one of the cats, Tom rushed in and picked up Eduardo as he struggled in the net.

"Hah, looks like you've been caught off guard, precious gemstone," crooned Tom wickedly into Eduardo's face. Suddenly, an enraged squawk exploded above him. At this, Tom looked up in time to see a fire-eyed Jewel swoop down on him like a hawk, her talons outstretched. Tom, at this, ducked before Jewel's talons could rake his skin and draw blood, and dived into a tumble with an enraged and struggling Eduardo firmly in his paws. Eduardo fiercely struggled and tried biting Tom but Tom refused to let go. Then a darker blue and a few red comets flew in and began to attack Tom.

"You let my father-in-law go, you PESKY ALLEY CAT!" snarled Blu and with that, he jumped onto Tom's back and began to claw him. Tom cried and shouted to another cat, Moggy as she shoved a glaucous macaw in to a cage and said, "Here, cage this Spix macaw!"

Moggy, at this, took up a catch-ready stance and Tom tossed Eduardo to her. Moggy caught Eduardo and took him away. As Moggy rushed towards an empty cage held by two cats, the all-black male and Adriana, Eduardo in her paws and Jupiter and Mars in hot pursuit behind her, a white, black and ginger blur rushed in and tackled into her side. Moggy, taken by surprise, was sent tumbling for a few metres. Eduardo was thrown upward during the tumble and he came crashing into the brown soil again as the white blur with black and ginger patches, Catina, then charged Moggy again, knocking her down a second time. As Catina did this, the all-black cat and Adriana's eyes flashed with intense rage.

"YOU!" bellowed Adriana, her fur puffed out as she watched the calico then run towards Eduardo. Catina ignored the two cats, stopped by Eduardo's side and clicked her claws. Eduardo panicked when he saw Catina but she calmed him.

"Don't worry, I'm on your side," she said. She then rammed her claws through the net thread binding Eduardo's body and snapped them. The black cat and Adriana then ran in. Otis, who had also noticed Catina, also ran in. the eyes of all three cats were ablaze with vengeance and fury, and the three cats began to advance towards Catina. Suddenly, a cerulean comet flew in and tried to attack Otis to stop him from advancing further towards Catina while Jupiter and Mars attacked Adriana and the black cat. Otis flared his brown eyes at Jewel as she tried to rake his face with her claws.

"Buzz off, you cerulean feathered pest," snarled the black and white cat and with that, he raised a paw and swiped Jewel hard across the face, sending her flying. Jupiter gasped in horror as he watched Otis swipe Jewel away while he held the black cat by the ears.

"I wish he hadn't done that," he said quickly in a high-pitched voice, knowing about Jewel's volcanic temper, not to mention Eduardo's especially when his daughter got hurt. Mars also flashed a look of horror as he saw Jewel fly and crash-land on her front a few metres away from the group, before refocussing on attacking Adriana and dodging her paw swipes. Once Jewel was out of the way, Otis began to advance towards Catina as she snapped the last of the strands binding Eduardo. This done, Eduardo stood up but when he saw the black and white form of Otis approach him and then Jewel's body across from him, he gasped and ran over to inspect his daughter while Catina took up a defensive stance.

"I should have KNOWN you were spying on us and causing us trouble behind our backs all along, you traitorous calico," snarled Otis bitterly. Catina just stood her ground, her eyes baby blue flames, like those of burning sulfur. Her fur was puffed out and her claws were flared, ready for use. Not too far away, Blu continued attacking Tom while Eduardo inspected Jewel, who was conscious but stunned, but Otis's swipe to her face has left a bit of a scratch, much to Eduardo's explosive fury. He stood up and his green eyes erupted like volcanoes. Nearby, Jupiter and Mars continued fiercely attacking Adriana and the black cat.

"All part of helping my friends escape these pesky poachers," retorted Catina bitterly. Otis hissed in revulsion at Catina's response.

"Don't you realise what misery you have caused us by abandoning us and joining our enemies, calico?" snarled Otis, "You have caused the death of Brutus, destroyed our future and left us to become some sort of lousy HOUSECATS! We could have been RICH, but you have decided to throw it all away by dumping us, leaving us to pick up the pieces and choosing the lousy life as a house pet."

"What kind of a life is going round capturing helpless birds and smuggling them illegally out of this country, anyway?" snapped Catina. Suddenly, her baby blue eyes caught sighted a cerulean form striding towards Otis. At this, Catina's face changed from anger to a look of, "Uh-oh". Otis, however, hadn't noticed… that an extremely enraged Spix macaw was walking towards him.

"We do that to make money," he bellowed but he stopped when he saw Catina, her eyes flooded with fear, back away. Wondering why Catina's expression had suddenly changed, Otis turned his head to the something Catina's frightened eyes were focussing on and when his eyes landed on it, he gasped in horror. Standing before him was a stocky male Spix macaw with a ruffle of feathers on his head. His green eyes were ablaze with fury and the macaw's face was practically red as Jupiter and Mars under the cerulean facial feathers. Standing beside him was Jewel, her face also thunderous. When Otis saw Eduardo and how furious he looked, he flinched and began to back away.

"I-I-I didn't knock her away, honestly," stammered the cat timidly. However, Eduardo, not fooled even the slightest, finally let his temper volcanically erupt. Heaving a huge breath, the Spix tribe patriarch let loose an extremely loud and frightening jaguar-like roar. The roar literally made Otis turn as white as a sheet and when it reached the ears of Blu as he delivered the knockout blow to Tom, he whipped round and flinched harshly at how angry his father-in-law was. Catrina also jumped back by about ten feet in utter fright while Mars and Jupiter, Moggy and the black cat flinched harshly but the one who was most frightened was Otis, for he had been the one to have whacked Jewel away. Overcome by immense terror, the cat tried to flee but Eduardo, fuelled by immense fury, dashed in, clamped his beak onto his tail and pulled him right back. Eduardo then slammed Otis hard onto the ground three times before spinning him around by the tail and flinging him towards the tree stump. Otis flew towards the stump of wood and slammed hard against it. Then before he could get up, the volcanic Eduardo pounced onto him and began to apply his talons and beak full-force with Jewel flying in and joining the attack. Agonised screeches exploded from Otis's mouth as he was brutally and mercilessly clawed and bit by the two macaws.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31- birds vs poachers part 2**

Zephyr swooped down on another poacher and grabbed the rim of his coat, before fiercely pulling it upward and over his head so that it was inside out. The poacher struggled as Zephyr then wrapped the coat around his head to blind him. With the coat over his face, the poacher's screams and wails were muffled and his vision obscured by the coat. Then as soon as he had entangled the poacher in his own coat, Zephyr, together with Roxie, Venus and Maximillian began to peck and claw the poacher. The poacher called for help but his muffled screams could not get out. His feet then snagged on a root of one of the tree stumps and he fell backward onto his backside. Nearby, Ernesto was swiping his hands at Ruby and Chiquitita but the two red macaws continued attacking. Ruby then grabbed a beak-ful of his hair and began to pull on it. Ernesto thrashed his head this way and that to dislodge the scarlet macaw. When Ruby refused to let go, Ernesto reached up with his hands, grabbed the scarlet macaw and threw her against a tree stump. Ruby crashed against the protrusion of wood and slid down, stunned at first. Then Ernesto stormed towards her with a net.

"I'm gonna ensnare and cage ya, ya wretched parrot," snarled the poacher. However, Ruby flapped up and sent Ernesto's net and hands crashing into the tree stump. She then jumped onto Ernesto's head and raked her claws across his face. Ernesto cried in agony and covered his face, some drops of blood oozing through his fingers. Then Chiquitita flew in and tackled him to knock him down. Ernesto tripped over one of the roots of the tree stump and landed in a mud puddle with a splat. Ruby and Chiquitita then sniggered at the poor poacher as he struggled in the slimy mud.

"That's what you get for messing with wild macaws," sneered Ruby at Ernesto.

"I hope that teaches you a lesson," said Chiquitita as she watched Ernesto continue to struggle in the mud, groaning from the pain from the claw marks Ruby had inflicted on his face. Nearby, another female poacher was being assaulted by Travis who flapped around her head with some red macaws, including the red tribe's scoremarker and Roxie's red macaw lookalike, Cherie while another male poacher was being attacked by Sunset, Eustace, Milo, Rosa and some green macaws. Travis slammed into the woman poacher's face and knocked her over to Cherie and her companions who then began to bombard her head and shoulders with a series of claw scratches and bites.

"Hey, can you lend a hand here," shouted the man as Sunset clawed at his face with Eustace, Milo and Rosa flitting around his head and the green macaws attacked his upper body. The female poacher, however, did not hear him and continued to shield her face from the marauding Travis and the red macaws when suddenly, a few black comets rushed in and tackled some of the scarlet and green-winged macaws including Cherie, some of the military and great green macaws and Sunset. Cherie and the others that had been tackled shrieked or gasped in shock until they found themselves face to face with some of the crows. Enraged, they fought back full-force, Cherie locked in a vicious struggle with one of them while Sunset waved her talons around and knocked more down. While Sunset's group fought the crows, Travis and the two remaining red macaws continued attacking the female poacher while Eustace, Milo and Rosa continued their attack on the male with the remaining green macaws. Travis then kicked the poacher in the face and sent her falling backwards into another mud puddle. The poacher landed with a tremendous splat with globs of wet mud flying everywhere. Eustace, Milo and Rosa then made the male poacher lose his balance by flying right into his face. The poacher's foot snagged onto a rock sticking out of the ground and he fell. Nearby, Tornado, Gael, Nuvem, Viento, Roberto and Brisa, together with Zephyr and Venus and some other Spix macaws had formed an attack formation in the air.

"Alright, everyone," shouted Tornado who was at the front of the arrow, "Let's fly like the wind and strike those poachers!"

And with that, the group of Spix macaws tilted their formation and dived down towards a group of three poachers as they continued trying to catch some glaucous and hyacinth macaws with net guns. Enraged screeches exploded out of the group of Spix macaws' beaks as they dived down at the three poachers and before the two women and man could get a glimpse of the arrow of blue birds swooping down on them, the arrow hit them. Screeches of Tornado's group then exploded furiously as the group began to claw the poachers' heads and faces. The glaucous and hyacinth macaws then rushed in to help. Then soon, screams of agony exploded from the three poachers' mouths as their heads and upper bodies received claw and bite marks from the marauding macaws. Brisa and Roberto tore hair out of one of the women's heads while Zephyr clawed the other two in the faces.

"Take this!" he shouted, "Take that! Take THIS!"

One of his claw swipes knocked the glasses of the man from his face. The glasses were sent flying and the man, who was short-sighted like one of the female poachers whom Mimas had stolen her glasses, began to struggle to see the macaws. Venus then flew in and kicked him in the back of the head to knock him down while Tornado and Gael, together with three of the glaucous macaws and a hyacinth macaw, tore at the other woman's shirt, inflicting gashes in the fabric. Around the three poachers' feet as they tried to ward off Tornado's group, the glaucous and hyacinth macaws that had been netted, including Rudi, began to struggle as Otis's gang members and some crows ran in to collect them to cage. However, before the cats and crows could pick up the macaws, barks exploded from nearby. At this, the cats and crows looked up and bolted as four large greyhounds dashed in. Dash rocketed towards one of the cats, a white Persian, and swiped him away with a paw while Avellana, James and Danny chased off the crows. While they did that, Veggie, Thomas, Collette and Daisy rushed in to free the birds from their nets. When Rudi saw Veggie approach him, he screeched angrily and tried to scratch him with his talons but Veggie continued advancing toward him.

"Hold still, or I'll not be able to free you," shouted Veggie but Rudi continued lashing his talons at him.

"I DESPISE felines coming anywhere near me," snarled the glaucous macaw. Veggie rolled his eyes and went up to him anyway. Quickly, he clicked his claws.

"I'll be in a jiffy," he said but before he could sever the thread entangling Rudi's wings and body, two of the crows swooped in and attempted to attack Veggie and drive him away when suddenly, three green and two navy blue blurs swooped in and knocked them away. Veggie flinched in shock when he saw the three green macaws, one of which was Alonso, and the two navy blue macaws, one of which was Valentino, tackle the crows and drive them away. Snapping back to Rudi, Veggie sliced his claws through the strings of the net and snapped them. He continued doing this until enough strands were snapped for Rudi to get up and fly away. Nearby, Collette, Daisy and Thomas had freed the other glaucous and hyacinth macaws from their nets and had hauled them into the air. Veggie then bolted as Rudi stood up as he expected the wild glaucous macaw to pounce on and attack him. However, Rudi did not. Instead, he shot Veggie a fierce but approving glare.

"Just this once, cat," he growled, "Since you've freed me."

And with that, he opened his wings and took off. Veggie then moved on to rescuing the caged birds. However, to his surprise, he saw one of the falcons unlock the padlocks with a key. It was a female falcon and she had a key in her talons. As she freed a Spix macaw, one of Otis's gang members, Paws screeched at her.

"What are you doing, Cometa!?" he shouted. At this, Cometa shot the cat a glare and went on to the next cage containing a Lear's macaw. Paws, at this, crouched and leaped at Cometa.

"You're just like Catina from our former group, you TRAITOR," he snarled but before he could land on Cometa, a brown and black blur shot in and tackled him away. A shout of surprise spat from Paws's mouth but when he shook his head to collect himself, he saw the cat that had tackled him, Veggie, then nod to Cometa as she stuck the key into the padlock and turned it. Veggie then took up an attack stance as Paws walked towards him to confront him. Veggie puffed his fur out and arched his back.

"You really have crossed the line, tabby cat," snarled Paws, "just like your calico mate!"

He then paused. "By the way, I thought you and that traitorous calico had broken up."

Veggie then put on an admissive facial expression.

"That was actually made up," he retorted, "We haven't really broken up but there was NO WAY I was gonna betray her to YOU guys back in Rio!"

Veggie then smirked and added, "But at least she's broken away from the wretched business of smuggling helpless birds, especially with that deranged psycho of a cockatoo who has apparently become a sort of feathery substitute of that infamous Brutus…"

Paws, at this, felt hot rage tear through him.

"Then you shall FACE MY FURY along with your MATE and OFFSPRING," he bellowed and prepared to pounce onto Veggie to fight him but before he could do so, a mango slice flew in and bopped him on the head.

"What the-!?" spat Paws as the yellow glop of flesh and juice rolled off his face. He then snapped in the direction of the mango slice's trajectory and saw a number of hyacinth macaws, among them Neptune, Ultramarine, Indigo and Triton, armed with fruit and other things. Neptune had been the one to throw the mango. Nodding to his family and companions, the hyacinth macaws charged towards Paws and began to pelt him with various fruit, nuts, stones and sticks.

"Leave our cat friend alone, you bully!" snarled Neptune as he hurled more mango at Paws. Paws scurried like a terrified capybara as the projectiles of various types flew around him and bounced off various parts of his body. Ultramarine then swerved around to the front of Paws with two slabs of wood loaded with fruit in each talon and caught slammed the two slabs together, catching Paws's head in between them. Guava seeds, juice and flesh flew everywhere during the impact. Then Paws turned tail and ran in the opposite direction, his face and neck covered in splattered guava, only to face a barrage of projectiles from the hyacinth macaws. Then Victor, one of Indigo and Triton's friends, took off his fruit-shell hat and threw it like a frizbee at Paws. The spinning shell flew and bounced off Paws's nose. Paws then fell over onto his side as more projectiles flew in from the hyacinth macaws and pelted him. Victor then gleefully flew to his hat, retrieved it and placed it back on his head. Veggie ran in and joined in the fray by hurling balls of mud at Paws. Paws soon became so overwhelmed by the barrage of projectiles that he finally admitted defeat and fled. The hyacinth macaws then hi-fived each other with their talons while Neptune did a talon/paw hi-five with Veggie. Indigo, Triton and Victor congratulated each other.

"Well done, everyone," shouted Neptune as they watched Paws flee.

"He certainly is a real coward," tittered Ultramarine. Veggie gave a smug nod and left to help the other macaws. Not too far away, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Blueberry, Quincy, Flor and Charon led a group of glaucous macaws in an attack dive at five more poachers. The group of poachers, upon seeing the arrow of aggressive grey-headed turquoise and blue birds with yellow facial markings, screamed and tried to run but the small flock easily overtook them. The five poachers uttered immense screams and naughty words as their heads and upper bodies were subjected to aggressive clawing and biting from the glaucous macaws. Pluto flapped directly in front of the face of one of them and screeched loudly, making the poacher scream and run away. Nearby, Lapis Lazuli, together with her four chicks and Rodrigo, mercilessly clawed another poacher's face and pulled at her hair. Not too far away, three more poachers were being attacked and scratched by more hyacinth macaws and blue-throated macaws. Ceres flew in with a long piece of vine and shouted, "Cobalto, Violeta!" and threw them the vine. At this, Cobalto and Violeta turned and caught the vine and together with Ceres began to fly around the legs of the three poachers while the other blue-throated and hyacinth macaws kept them occupied. Wilbur, Azul and Aurelio then tried to pull on the necklace of one of the poachers, a woman, while Reynaldo, Anita and their son Edson, together with Demetrio and his and Violeta's sons, Arlo and Vincente, tugged on her hair or pulled on her shirt.

"If there's ONE thing I CANNOT STAND," shouted Reynaldo furiously as he raked his claws across the poacher's face, "It's poachers who think they're clever enough to disguise as well-meaning humans only to reveal their true colours in catching us to take away for the pet trade."

"Annoying menaces, aren't they?" said Anita as she tackled another poacher in the face to get him to release one of the hyacinth macaws he had grabbed. Then soon, Cobalto, Ceres and Violeta had finished tying the vine around the three poachers' legs and them together. When the poachers found themselves bound together by the vine, they began to struggle only to fall over like a huge tree due to the restricted movement of their legs, much to the laughter of the group of macaws.

"Hah, take that you trio of pesky poachers," chortled Cobalto. Suddenly, a drop of water dripped onto Ceres's head. At this, she shot Demetrio a look.

"What was that drip?" she asked. Demetrio, at this, looked around and saw a few streaks of water fall around the group. It was obvious that they were falling from the grey skies above. Demetrio knew this meant one thing.

"It's beginning to rain," he said.

"We'd better hurry and get these poachers caught by the real nature carers before the conditions become too unsuitable for us to continue this battle," said Violeta. At this, Ceres, Cobalto, Wilbur, Aurelio and Azul flew off to help some green macaws deal with some of the crows. The raindrops then began to increase in frequency as the poachers and the macaws continued fighting. A thunderclap then sounded in the air. Dash, at this, looked up and saw a flash amongst the cotton-like texture of the clouds as well as the raindrops.

"Oh, boy," he murmured. Suddenly, something snapped him out of his gaze at the imminent rainy weather.

"Dash, LOOK OUT!"

At this, Dash looked around when suddenly, an arm of wood slammed down right in front of him. Dash released a bark of surprise before looking up at whoever had brought the stick down until his eyes met with the thunderous face of a human. It was Lysandre, and his face was as thunderous as the sky beginning to release its reservoir of heavy rain.

"I've just about had enough of you stupid mutts running around and causing trouble," snarled the poacher leader and with that, he heaved the stick from the ground and prepared to bring it down onto Dash's head. Dash at this, rushed towards Lysandre's legs as the poacher leader slammed the stick down. Dash rushed through the poacher's legs, swerved round and then clamped his jaws onto Lysandre's backside. An agonised cry exploded from Lysandre's mouth as Dash then began to pull at his trousers (or pants as they are often known in the Americas). Lysandre began to try and yank his trousers from Dash's jaws but the greyhound's jaws remained iron-tight. Growl's vibrated from Dash's throat as he continued to pull, and his blue eyes were flashing with lightning. Then four cats and three more greyhounds rushed in and began to help Dash cause trouble for Lysandre. Veggie, who had been the one to shout to Dash of Lysandre's approach to him with the stick, jumped onto Lysandre's trousers and began to climb up towards Lysandre's head while Collette, Daisy, Thomas, Danny, James and Avellana, together with Dash who kept his jaws clamped onto Lysandre's trousers, began to bark, snarl, snap, bite, hiss and claw at Lysandre's feet. Lysandre continued shouting cries and spitting curse words as he tried shaking off the greyhounds and cats but they refused to back off. Veggie continued scaling up Lysandre's back until he was finally on his shoulders. As soon as he was on Lysandre's head, Veggie began to viciously claw and bite the head poacher's head. Even more agonised screams and spitting of naughty words exploded from Lysandre's mouth as he then began to try and pry Veggie off his head. Veggie continued clawing at his head and face until Lysandre grabbed him. Veggie, however, continued his assault on the poacher. With a loud cat screech and back fur raised, the tabby cat lashed his claws at Lysandre's arms, inflicting numerous scratches on them while Dash and the others continued attacking his legs and feet. Lysandre cried and screamed in pain as the skin of his arms became slashed with red scratch marks from Veggie's claws. Veggie finally brought his teeth down onto one of Lysandre's hands in order to get him to release him. Lysandre uttered another agonised cry and dropped Veggie. As soon as Veggie was on the ground, he, Dash and the others retreated. Lysandre then grasped his bitten hand with the other. His face, arms and hands were covered in bleeding scratches and his bitten hand was oozing blood. Lysandre looked on with eyes glittering with malice when suddenly; a swarm of cerulean and blue birds came upon him like a swarm of bees. Veggie and the others continued retreating and turned round to see Lysandre return to shouting in pain as a flock of Spix macaws began to brutally claw and bite him.

"He's not gonna stand much of a chance against that lot," growled Veggie smugly.

"That must be how they drove out the loggers," said Collette.

"That group of humans with their enormous tree destroying machines?" asked Avellana in confusion.

"Well, the Spix macaws would have had help from the other animals of the jungle, wouldn't they," said Dash. James, Danny, Collette, Daisy and Avellana nodded in agreement. While the Spix macaws continued attacking Lysandre, some more Spix macaws dealt with Cazador with some glaucous, red and blue-and-gold macaws. Cazador, his large eyes ablaze with thunderous anger, was lashing his talons at any macaw that came close.

"Get away from me, you filthy jungle pigeons," he snarled, "Get away from me!"

Suddenly, one of the Spix macaws, Venus, pounced onto him from behind, sending Cazador into a writhing frenzy with Venus on his back while the other macaws attacked. Venus continued hanging on while the other macaws continued attacking Cazador. Tornado watched his daughter-in-law as she hung onto the falcon's back.

"Be careful, Venus!" he cried. Gael, Zephyr, Brisa and Roberto also flew in and when they saw who was on Cazador's back, they, especially Zephyr, jerked their heads up in horror.

"Oh, no," squawked Roberto, "She's gonna be brutally clawed."

"Venus, get off his back!" shouted Zephyr. Venus, however, was too occupied with clinging onto Cazador to hear her mate's calls. With Cazador's defences lowered, the surrounding macaws began to launch a barrage of talon swipes at Cazador. Some macaws even tried tearing feathers out of Cazador's body but could not get close enough to do this because of Cazador's snapping beak and flailing talons. Then after a few more minutes of writhing and receiving more talon scratches including one to the chest from a talon of a blue-and-gold macaw, Cazador finally snapped.

"RIGHT, THAT DOES IT!" he bellowed and with that, he began to bolt and jerk violently like a fish out of water, making Venus cling for dear life onto his back. Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa flew in. they were puffing and panting from all the fighting.

"Has Tulio been alerted about these poachers yet?" asked Sunset.

"No, but someone needs to go and get him," said Travis. Sunset's face and crest then flared with determination.

"Then I'll get him," she growled.

"Mom, no," cried Eustace. Travis, Rosa and Milo and shot Sunset a glare.

"But Sunset, it's too dangerous," said Travis as the Major Mitchell's cockatoo prepared to fly away, "One, it's beginning to rain and two, you could get lost in the jungle trying to find them…"

But Sunset had already left. "No time to explain," she shouted and soon, she was out of earshot. Giving up, Travis led his three chicks to a safe spot. Cazador continued jerking and bolting his body until he finally managed to dislodge Venus from his back. Venus, realising she had been thrown off, then tried to escape but a falcon talon darted in and grabbed her by the neck. Horror tore through the surrounding macaws, especially Tornado, Zephyr, Gael, Brisa and Roberto.

"VENUS!" shouted Tornado. Venus struggled in the iron-vice of Cazador's talon as Cazador glared at her with malicious eyes.

"I'm gonna claw ya for that, you pest," he snarled and with that, he raised his other talon and prepared to bring it down onto Venus's stomach. Then Zephyr began to dart in to attack Cazador but Tornado stopped him.

"Let me see to it, son," he said and with that, he charged at Cazador, much to Brisa, Zephyr, Gael and Roberto's horror.

"Tornado, NO!" cried Gael but it was too late. Tornado flew right up behind Cazador and with all his might; he raked his talons down the falcon's back. The falcon released an agonised screech and dropped Venus, who made a beeline for her mate and his family and Roberto. As soon as she collided with Zephyr, he locked her in a relieved embrace.

"Just what were you thinking, you foolish macaw!?" he shouted.

"I only wanted to lower his defences," replied Venus. Gael, Brisa and Roberto also came in and hugged her, relieved that she wasn't hurt. However, Tornado had not returned. The five Spix macaws broke their group embrace and looked up but to their horror, Cazador was viciously fighting Tornado. The surrounding glaucous, Spix and blue-and-gold macaws tried to help but they were either whacked away by a wing or talon from the whirlwind of grey, ivory, blue-white and lush blue. Tornado continued delivering bites and scratches to Cazador until the falcon's reservoir of anger finally broke through its dam. With an enraged screech, which caused the macaws surrounding him to cover their ears, Cazador raised a talon and brought it down onto Tornado. An agonised screech erupted from Tornado's beak as the lethal claws struck his torso. Then next, Tornado's body plummeted towards the ground.

"DAAAAAD!" cried Brisa and Zephyr together.

"NOOOOO!" cried Gael. Venus and Roberto also looked on in utter horror. One of the blue-and-gold macaws shot the five Spix macaws a look.

"You five see to your relative," he said, "While we deal with this falcon."

Gael, Zephyr, Brisa, Venus and Roberto obeyed and swooped down towards Tornado while the other macaws dealt with Cazador but he had already escaped. Cazador then flew over the battlefield the clearing had become and observed the continuing fight between the poachers and the macaws. Around him the rain had increased and a thunderclap sounded. Cazador's eyes raked the battlefield, sliding over Swoop as he was knocked down by a hyacinth macaw, and also Bryony, Aliana and Xerosic as they continued facing some merciless pummelling and clawing from more macaws, and Lysandre, as the flock of Spix macaws continued attacking him. Cazador's eyes then travelled to something against the background of green trees where they spotted a pale pink blob stand out. It was Sunset and she was flying from the battlefield. An evil grin crept into Cazador's beak and his throat sounded an evil laugh, and the falcon began to pursue the Major Mitchell's cockatoo. As Cazador started his pursuit of Sunset and the fight between the poachers and the macaws continued, from the vegetation, a ragged grey-white form with a tattered green and yellow vest covering his body peered out from the ferns with brown eyes loaded with malice. When the pair of eyes saw a family of five Lear's macaws leave the battlefield to rest, a malicious smile crept into the cockatoo's beak.

"Bad move, grey-eyes (that is, Mercury)," crooned the cockatoo, "You're putting your family into a vulnerable position. It is time to inflict another deep scar into your heart."

Then with an evil laugh, the cockatoo left and began to prepare to attack Mercury, Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette.


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32- Sunset finds Tulio and his team, and the barbaric mind of Nigel**

Sunset continued flying through the trees, her wings beating as fast as they had been when she and Travis had flown through the jungle to find and warn the Spix macaw tribe of the poachers. Around Sunset, raindrops fell and Sunset flinched at the sound of thunder. She shot a glance behind her and continued flying through the trees looking for Tulio and his group. Sunset passed over the other clearing and saw Tulio's helicopter. This was the route mark and Sunset knew that she was flying in the right direction. Pulling her gaze from the copter, she continued her flight path. However, Sunset heard the sound of whooshing air and flapping wings behind her, and she realised that she wasn't alone. As she neared the wall of trees, heading for the break in them, a scornful voice belonging to a falcon as he glided behind her, sounded.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" it crooned, "A cowardly little pink cockatoo with a red and yellow crest trying to escape the battle with my group, eh?"

Sunset ignored Cazador and entered the tree canopy, but Cazador remained hot on her tail. Sunset felt panic boil within her and she began to beat her wings harder.

"You're seriously a sitting duck, you know, cockatoo," growled Cazador meanly, his voice laced with scorn, "On your own, you're more vulnerable to getting caught. What a cowardly and foolishly life-risking choice to take."

Sunset retorted as Cazador emitted a scornful, "Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm," from his throat.

"Cowardly and foolish?" snapped the Major Mitchell's cockatoo, shooting the falcon a bitter glare, "You'll see that the reason why I have left the battlefield is the opposite in a few minutes!"

Cazador, at this, knew that Sunset was referring to Tulio and his team and that she was out to fetch them. The moment he realised this, an evil grin crept into his beak.

"I think not, pink cockatoo," growled the falcon evilly and with that, he raised his talons and began to attempt to grab Sunset but the Major Mitchell's cockatoo swerved sharply right and entered the tree canopy. Cazador released a huff of frustration and began to give chase. Sunset flew through the greenery of the canopy and the light rain, observing the trees as they flowed by. Sunset tried her best to keep to the widest possible gaps in the canopy in order to avoid flying into branches or webs of vine tendrils, and there were a lot of them around in this level of the rainforest. Behind her, Cazador gave chase, also avoiding the obstacles of the jungle. However, because his species was built for hunting in completely open air and not in a cluttered habitat, the clutter of the environment was proving to be a challenge for him to catch up with Sunset. Sunset, on the other hand, had spent a number of months living in the jungle with her family and the Spix macaws until the group's return to Rio before these events unfolded, so she was used to flying through a cluttered environment and thus had an advantage over her pursuer. However, Cazador was not going to allow this environmental disadvantage put him off his chase after Sunset even as she began to widen the gap between her and him. Then soon, the cockatoo and falcon reached another break in the trees and Sunset began to follow it, her eyes darting wildly as she scanned the lower levels of the rainforest for any flash of artificial colour. As she flew along, Cazador flew up behind her and raised his talons.

"There's no way you're gonna find those real ecologists and turn my group in, cockatoo!" snarled the falcon and with that, he swiped his lethal sickle-like claws at Sunset's back. Sunset, at this, cried in fear and dived down, Cazador's claws missing her by a few centimetres. Sunset then descended lower and lower towards the forest floor with Cazador hot on her tail. Soon, both birds were flying at the level above the forest floor and as Cazador tried slashing Sunset with his talons again, Sunset swerved expectantly into the tree clutter and straight over a branch. Cazador tried to follow but was forced to brake abruptly to avoid colliding with the branch. Seeing Sunset fly into the clutter of trees, Cazador growled and flew into the air for a more dramatic attack. Sunset continued flying through the trees, flapping left and right to avoid crashing into the tree trunks. She stole a brief glance behind her to see if Cazador was still behind her. To her relief, there was no falcon and Sunset continued her search for Tulio and his team. She then ascended from the just-above forest floor level through the canopy and towards the treetops. Various curious animals, such as monkeys, gazed at her in surprise, wondering why a pink short-tailed macaw-like bird with a vivid red and yellow banded crest was flying through the jungle. Sunset continued ascending until she was finally flying above the trees. However, this rendered her vulnerable as in the air, Cazador, who had flown to a high height to get a better view of the jungle and to better find a distinctive pink blob against the leafy green background, then began his most lethal move. He folded his wings, angled his body and dived down like a rocket from high in the grey, thunderous sky, aiming straight for Sunset. The Major Mitchell's cockatoo then looked up and when she saw the rocket of Cazador dive straight for her at high speed, she emitted a high-pitched scream of terror. At this moment, Tulio and his team continued trudging through the vegetation. They had decided to keep to the areas under the trees as it had begun to rain and soon, the trickle will increase to a torrential downpour.

"We're almost there," said Tulio as the others behind him continued stepping over various forest floor obstacles such as roots and rocks. Tulio had received a call from the pilot back at the copter and this had prompted the group to accelerate their trip back toward the clearing. Fernando, Jack and Jill looked anxious, but they were also glad that their suspicions had been confirmed, and the others wore angry looks on their faces, especially Tulio. Tulio could not believe that he had been easily fooled by the man called Ernesto and that a group of poachers could come up with such a crafty idea to sneak into a patch of rainforest that was supposed to be a protected reserve. Some also felt guilty at not listening to the warnings. Susan and Lucy were two of them with the guilty feeling. They had only come to realise that under Dash, James and Avellana's apparent naughty behaviour and barking at Tulio's Aviary, they had something important to tell them.

"I can't believe that we've unintentionally allowed a group of poachers onto this protected reserve," growled Linda bitterly, snapping Susan and Lucy out of their thoughts. "If only we had seen the warning signs or listened to Fernando, Jack and Jill, we might have caught those poachers earlier…"

"I know, I'm as guilty as you are, dear," said Tulio. Linda breathed a frustrated sigh.

"And I hope those Spix macaws and the others are alright as well," she murmured. Fernando just shot her a brief look and said nothing. As the group continued trekking along, quickly but carefully, Jack and Jill's ears picked up a faint squawk.

"What is that?" asked Jack. At this, the others stopped.

"What is it now, Jack?" growled Susan impatiently.

"Shh," hushed Jill. At this, the others cocked their ears to the distant squawk sound which became louder and louder.

"It sounds like a macaw," said Linda. However, Tulio then picked up something crucial about the squawk.

"It must be and it sounds in great distress," said the ornithologist as the squawk increased in volume. Soon, the source of the squawk emerged into view of the humans from some trees. Fernando's eyes caught the source, a pink blob, as it approached the humans.

"Look," he shouted, pointing to the pink form. At this, all eyes followed his point and fixed on the pink thing. Susan and Lucy immediately recognised the pink form.

"It's SUNSET!" cried Susan. Indeed it was. The pink bird, which was Sunset, was screeching nonstop. Her feathers were on end, her crest was flared, its red and yellow bands showing, and her eyes were filled with unspeakable terror. From her beak emitted a piercing screech that was as saturated with terror as her eyes and plumage.

"Looks like she's being chased by something," said Francisco, one of the other humans. No sooner than these words escaped his lips when another form swooped into view. This form was grey and ivory.

"Look at THAT!" shouted Jack.

"Is that a…" began Susan.

"Peregrine falcon," said Tulio, finishing Susan's sentence. The group watched in utter horror as the falcon flew past the group and continued chasing Sunset.

"Peregrine falcon!?" repeated Linda in shock, "But… but those birds aren't native to the Amazon rainforest."

Then it dawned upon Tulio. Frowning, he shot the others a glare.

"I definitely smell a rat around here," he said, "I believe that bird is one of the poacher's falcons." Then he shot a stick at the falcon and commanded, "After that falcon and that cockatoo!"

And with that, the group began to walk through the forest at a faster pace. Sunset continued beating her wings furiously despite the fatigue building up in her muscles. She had never flown this fast in her life, but with a fast flying bird capable of reaching speeds of up to 200 mph hot on her tail, Sunset knew that she could not slow down. She stole a glance behind her at Cazador, whose face was plastered with the thrill of the chase and the determination to possibly kill her, Sunset rocketed on back in the direction of the battlefield where the poachers and the macaws continued fighting.

 **Meanwhile**

Mercury, Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette landed near some ferns. The former two were covered in a few scratches and bruises, and they were out of breath but Sapphire's left wing had lost some secondary flight feathers. One of the crows had managed to tear those feathers from her wing but Mercury had chased it away before it could do any more damage, and the family was forced to retreat to a safe spot when Sapphire found that she was struggling to stay aloft with her tattered left wing. Back in the battlefield, the poachers continued to be swarmed by the flock of angry colourful birds and the rain continued to fall in moderate amounts. While the fray continued, Mercury began to examine Sapphire's tattered left wing. Sapphire's face was twisted in pain while Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette looked on in worry.

"I'm afraid you'll not be able to fly properly with those missing feathers from your wing," said Mercury. Sapphire breathed a frustrated sigh.

"Now what am I gonna do?" she muttered.

"You might want to be taken to Tulio for treatment," said Mercury as he released her wing. Sapphire sighed and sat down, her disappointed eyes on the missing feathers of her wing.

"It sure has been a difficult situation, hasn't it, Merc?" she asked. Mercury nodded in agreement.

"I agree," he said, before looking up at the battling poachers and macaws, "But I hope those poachers aren't far away from getting caught."

Suddenly, a piercing scream erupted from Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette's beaks. Sapphire also stood up and drew in a sharp breath and Mercury turned round and gasped but before he could act, a grey, yellow and green form charged in and slashed Mercury down the side with his claws. Mercury cried in pain and bowled over, his wings clasped to his side. A red patch then began to form on his navy blue wing feathers, though the dark blue made it barely visible.

"MERCURY!" cried Sapphire and with that, she, Phoebe and her sisters ran to her side. As the four gathered around the wounded Mercury, a scornful voice said, "And I sure hope that his heart isn't far from getting broken either."

At this, Sapphire's blue eyes changed from horror to volcanic fury and she snapped round to the speaker. When she eyed him, her wings spread protectively around her daughters who cowered timidly behind her. Mercury was in too much pain to notice Nigel standing before his mate and three daughters but when he eventually eyed the cockatoo, he gasped in horror. Nigel was a hideous state. His face was slashed with half-healed scratches, some of which were beginning to show signs of infection or had been picked for Nigel had a bad habit of picking his wounds. Sapphire winced in revulsion at the ugly looking wounds on Nigel's face, for they reminded her of how some of the flying foxes looked with those hideous scars on their faces. Nigel's vest was torn and slashed with gashes and some of the fabric was hanging from the tears while the edges were tatty. It was though Nigel had been dragged through a thorn bush. Through the gashes in his vest, some more scratches were visible on his torso and his wings were as tattered and as featherless as before. On his face, his brown eyes were blazing with unspeakable hatred, scorn and sadism and his pale yellow crest was flared. Nigel's terrifying appearance practically frightened Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette and they cowered behind their mother. Sapphire then managed to conceal her revulsion and surprise at Nigel's unexpected appearance.

"What do you want, Nigel!?" she barked. Nigel then sauntered towards her.

"I've come to do to grey-eyes (Mercury) what I have done eighteen years ago," he growled evilly. He tittered nastily when he saw the horrified look on Mercury's face. Mercury shot Sapphire a pleading look.

"Sapphire, get your daughters to safety and quick!" he shouted, "Don't worry about me."

Sapphire, at this, shot her mate a 'What?' look. It was obvious that she was not going to leave Mercury to potentially face a brutal clawing from the barbaric cockatoo and Nigel knew this from her facial expression.

"Ah, love," he crooned, "It's such a powerful and STUPID thing."

Sapphire, at this, snapped her gaze back from Mercury to Nigel. Her navy blue and dark teal feathers, including her long head feathers, flared out and her blue eyes became thunderstorms. Around, the rain continued to increase and lightning began to flash. The lightning flashes made Nigel look more terrifying, especially as he began to advance toward Sapphire, one diabolical aim in mind. Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette cowered and whimpered more behind their mother and Sapphire took up a defensive stance.

"I remember seeing that grey-eyed macaw, when he was young, with his pigtailed Spix macaw friend," growled Nigel sadistically, his brown eyes flashing an evil glare at Mercury as he lay on the floor holding his wound, "Sob his eyes out over the death of his parents and siblings at my talons, and his tearing away from his beloved home."

Sapphire winced in utter revulsion at the lack of guilt in Nigel's voice.

"I absolutely enjoyed terrorising him and that pigtailed Spix macaw before finally knocking them out to shut them up while we were on our way to Europe," added Nigel as he continued advancing towards Sapphire, making her and her three daughters back away, "I was hoping that those two would be purchased by very cruel owners so that they can suffer like how I suffered the loss of my beloved career to that wretched parakeet…"

Sapphire tried to think of something to say but could not get her tongue to move. Nigel then continued.

"Now that my ability to fly has been ripped away from me thanks to Blu and Jewel, those two cerulean birds of my misery," snarled Nigel in a more threatening tone of voice, "My desire to get revenge on pretty birds like you has doubled!"

Finally, Sapphire found something to say.

"That's all you ever think about, isn't it?" she said, boldly and coolly, "Revenge on exotic birds just because of the loss of some stupid career as a show bird and your flight. Why can't you just let it go and move on? And as far as your loss of flight is concerned, maybe you should have learned a very important lesson not to continue taking your hatred out on exotic birds like us and leave us alone?"

Nigel, at this, snapped. "I will NOT give it up, you filthy Lear's macaw," he snarled, "I'm gonna continue catching, smuggling and torturing pretty birds for the rest of my life, even when I become old and grey."

He then stole a glance at Mercury and then looked back at Sapphire. An evil grin crept into his beak. While Nigel continued taunting Sapphire, a grey and ivory falcon walked in. Cometa gasped in horror as she watched the cockatoo advance towards the female Lear's macaw and her three chicks. Nigel's eyes then found a frightened eye peering from behind Sapphire. Phoebe had tried getting a glimpse of the cockatoo only to snap back behind Sapphire as she saw him. But Nigel already knew about Sapphire's three chicks behind her.

"As for those three chicks of yours, pretty bird," added Nigel, "I'm gonna make history repeat itself. Not only will I devastate your mate, but also your pretty little girlies behind you. I'm gonna carve a scar into their hearts and give them a traumatising day they will never forget…"

Sapphire, at this, raised a talon and flared her claws, knowing where Nigel was going. Mercury, at this, gasped in horror. He tried to stand up but could not with the pain from the scratch on his torso. He could only plead with Sapphire to leave.

"Sapphire," he shouted, "Get out of here before that barbaric cockatoo even thinks of hurting you!"

Nigel snapped a glance at Mercury and then looked back at Sapphire. What he said next chilled the Lear's macaw and her chicks to the bone. She finally realised the mortal danger she was in.

"Time to cut to the chase, I think," Nigel crooned and with that, he sprang towards Sapphire with a talon outstretched, a murderous screech exploding from his beak. Sapphire, at this, gasped while her three chicks screamed in terror, but then the Lear's macaw took action. She jumped up and clawed Nigel across the chest. The cockatoo cried in pain and fell to the floor. However, the pain of the new wound did not deter the cockatoo from his insatiable desire to kill Sapphire and watch Mercury and the three daughters' hearts break. Standing up, Nigel eyed Sapphire with bloodlust-filled eyes. Sapphire then began to command her daughters to get to safety.

"Head for the trees, NOW!" she shouted urgently, her wings pushing them along.

"But Mom," protested Phoebe.

"Just DO IT!" barked Sapphire. Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette obeyed. They do not have much of a chance against the hulking cockatoo with a warped, barbaric mind and would likely end up killed if they tried to attack him. Without another second's hesitation, the three sisters spread their wings and headed off for the safety of the trees. Sapphire knew that Nigel would not be able to pursue them due to his inability to fly. As soon as her three daughters were out of danger, Sapphire turned to face the savage cockatoo as he advanced towards her. She had never seen such a murderous face since she dealt with that savage cat Brutus, and Nigel's look bore a frightening resemblance to that of the late Russian grey cat who was infamous for his savage temper.

"You know something," growled Nigel sadistically, "I think I should have done this to both you and pigtails' mate during your transport to this sanctuary but because Cazador wouldn't let me, it has denied me that important opportunity to tear the hearts of your pretty mate, his pigtailed Spix macaw friends and the chicks into two earlier…"

"What is it with you and your stupid aim of inflicting such a horrific scar on my family and Venus's, anyway?" retorted Sapphire. Nigel's gaze lowered in temperature.

"It's because I CANNOT STAND PRETTY BIRDS WITH HAPPY FAMILIES!" bellowed the cockatoo, "As for Blu and Jewel and their chicks, their scars are gonna be forced separation so that they feel MY loss of my ability to fly…"

"You've been yapping on about that for too long now, Nigel," retorted Sapphire hostilely. Behind Nigel, Mercury had managed to stand up and had begun to advance towards Nigel from behind, despite the pain emitting from his scratch. From a distance, Cometa looked on at the explosive exchange of words between Nigel and Sapphire and decided to take action. Nigel then finally snapped. He crouched into a pouncing position, like a cat ready to pounce onto its prey.

"Enough talk, you rotten pretty bird," he snarled and with an enraged squawk, Nigel's talons heaved the rest of his body off the ground and he went flying towards Sapphire, his talons outstretched for the kill. Sapphire, in defence, tried to fly up but remembered her tattered left wing and quickly switched to dodging Nigel's attack by diving and rolling on the ground. Nigel crashed in the spot where Sapphire was and stood up. Then Sapphire got up and glared daggers with the cockatoo and began to circle with him. Hisses emitted from both the Lear's macaw and the cockatoo's beaks as they continued to circle like a pair of cats ready to fight, both crouched on ready-to-pounce poses. Their feathers were puffed out and their blazing eyes were fixed dead centre. Mercury continued struggling towards Nigel as he continued circling with Sapphire. Then as soon as he was close enough, the male Lear's macaw bravely leaped onto Nigel's back.

"You LEAVE MY MATE ALONE, you BARBARIC…" he bellowed and with that, he tried to score his claws down Nigel's back but the wicked sulfur-crested cockatoo took action. Grabbing Mercury by the throat with a tattered wing, Nigel bellowed, "You stay out of this, you interfering nuisance!"

And with that, he threw Mercury powerfully towards as tree stump. Mercury cried as he flew and then slid on the soil until his voice was cut off as his head smacked against the stump's side, and he lay there, unconscious. Sapphire cried in horror.

"MERCURY!" she screeched. Cometa then flew over to Mercury's limp body after drawing in a sharp gasp. Then Sapphire refocused on Nigel, her blue eyes explosive volcano eruption plumes, the dam containing her temper finally broken.

"I'm GONNA SKIN YA ALIVE FOR THAT, YOU FILTHY VULTURE," bellowed the Lear's macaw and with that, she leaped at Nigel with her claws outstretched, poised to slash Nigel's face. Nigel, however, raised his wings and caught Sapphire by the talons. Sapphire then screeched loudly and began to flap and writhe to free her talons but Nigel's grip on them was too strong. Then Nigel spun round once and threw Sapphire away from him. The Lear's macaw landed on her feet and tried again. This time, she charged Nigel like a bull. While Sapphire charged towards Nigel only for him to jump up and kick her in the stomach to knock her back, Cometa tried shaking Mercury awake and checking his head for any injuries. To her horror, a bruise had formed on the site of impact and Mercury was limp. Fortunately, his heart was beating and he was still breathing. Cometa's gaze then snapped to Nigel who had finally overpowered Sapphire and had knocked her down. It was obvious that Sapphire was no match for the powerful and hulking cockatoo and Nigel was certainly a strong one. As soon as he saw that Sapphire was now vulnerable, Nigel strode towards her and towered menacingly over her.

"Now, I've got you, you helpless pretty bird," crooned the cockatoo sadistically, "It is time to execute my plan to tear your family's hearts into two."

Sapphire tried to back away but Nigel's talons rushed in and pinned her down. One went to her chest to stop her moving while the other went to her throat. The toes wrapped around Sapphire's throat and soon, she was lifted off the ground so that Nigel held her by the neck. Nigel's eyes blazed with horrid excitement as he looked forward to the moment he had been waiting for. However, before he could execute such a wicked deed, a female voice shouted, "Put that Lear's macaw down, Nigel!"

At this, Nigel breathed a huff of frustration and snapped his glare to the speaker.

"What do you want Cometa?" snarled the cockatoo, "Don't you see I'm standing on the brink of my most important and exciting moment?"

Cometa, however, maintained her fierce look. Behind her, Mercury was starting to come round.

"I said put her down," she growled in a low voice. Nigel's talon around Sapphire's neck, however, did not slacken, and Sapphire looked petrified. Cometa's gaze hardened.

"Do as I tell you," snarled the falcon.

"Or what?" snapped Nigel rhetorically. Cometa replied by raising a talon and threateningly flaring its lethal sickle-like claws.

"You even THINK of doing that, falcon and I'll turn extremely violent," growled Nigel stormily.

"I wouldn't have a choice," snapped Cometa fiercely, "I've had enough of your abuse of these poor, hapless birds."

Nigel, at this, felt disgust tear through him.

"You've become like that calico, haven't you?" he snarled. He then eyed Sapphire in his talon. "But your threats aren't gonna stop me from killing this filthy pretty bird here."

And with that, he tightened the grip around Sapphire's neck to such an extent that Sapphire's breathing was cut off. Cometa, at this, leaped at Nigel and tried to slash him with her claws but Nigel's wing raised and violently struck the falcon in the stomach, knocking her down. Cometa, at this, clasped her belly with her wings. Nigel then continued strangling Sapphire, cachinnating maniacally as he watched Sapphire writhe and struggle in his grasp and struggle to breathe. Sapphire's eyes began to bulge and her body began to shriek for oxygen, something Sapphire could not provide with the suffocating grip of Nigel around her neck. Soon, Mercury had fully regained consciousness and had stood up in time to see Nigel strangle his mate. Sapphire's name exploded from his beak. Then Mercury tried to run over to Nigel to attack him but was hindered by the scratch on his side. Sapphire continued struggling in Nigel's talon but then her movements began to slow. Her vision, which was helplessly fixated on the sadistic look of Nigel, began to blur and blacken. Cometa then struggled to her feet but by the time she was fully stood up, Sapphire had lost consciousness, her body having gone limb but Nigel continued strangling her to death. His face was plastered with unspeakable sadism and pleasure and he clearly enjoyed watching the poor Lear's macaw's movements slow. At this, Cometa lurched forward and bashed into Nigel's side, making him release Sapphire who fell limply on the ground. Cometa then raised a talon to try and claw Nigel but the cockatoo picked up a ball of soil and smashed it into Cometa's face. The falcon cried in shock and pain and Nigel made his getaway by rushing for the ferns. Cometa wiped the soggy soil from her face while Mercury rushed to Sapphire's side.

"Sapphire," he shouted alarmed, "SAPPHIRE!"

He began to try and shake Sapphire awake but she still lay limply in his wings. At this, tears sprung into Mercury's eyes as he was overcome with anguish. Then Cometa ran in. Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette who had been hiding as commanded by Sapphire then appeared in time to see their father try to shake their mother awake. Seeing Mercury beginning to break down, Cometa, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette rushed to Sapphire's side as well.

"MOOOM!" cried the daughters together. Mercury, distress overshadowing him like a cloud, looked at Cometa.

"Sh-sh-she won't MOOOOVE!" he screamed. At this, Cometa put a wing to Sapphire's neck to feel her pulse. To her relief, it was beating, indicating that Sapphire's heart was still beating. Nearby, Veggie, Catina, and Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto, Blu and their respective mates Zephyr, Chiquitita, Ruby, Orquidea, Esmeralda, Ultramarine, Cobalto, Lapis Lazuli and Jewel and all their chicks, and Travis, Eustace, Milo and Rosa, had gathered round. Dash, James, Danny, Avellana, Collette, Daisy and Thomas were busy helping the macaws deal with the poachers and their pets and Sunset was still away looking form Tulio and his team.

"She's unconscious but she's still alive," said Cometa, much to Mercury's relief, "Let's get her to those real ecologists."

Mercury felt soothed by these encouraging words but he was still in distress. Then soon, the group was surrounded by more colourful birds and two cats. Blu and Jewel rushed straight to Sapphire's side with Zephyr and Venus close behind.

"SAPPHIRE!" cried Zephyr. The others looked on before Catina looked accusingly at Cometa, making her flinch.

"Did you do this to her, you brute?" she snarled suspiciously. At this, Mercury rushed to her defence.

"It was Nigel who did this," he explained. At this, utter horror and disgust tore through the group. Then Jupiter's eyes caught sighted a flash of grey-white amongst the green vegetation. At this, he looked in the flash's direction and saw the familiar form of Nigel gaze at the group with a gloating expression on his face. Blu and Jewel saw him too.

"He's seriously crossed the line then," snarled Jewel, her feathers puffed out as she and Blu saw their nemesis among the undergrowth of the vegetation. Veggie then looked at Cometa and said, "You take Sapphire to safety and keep Mercury, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette company while we see to that rotten cockatoo over there."

"Who are Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette?" asked Cometa confused.

"Those three Lear's macaw chicks," said Catina with a slight growl. At this, Cometa turned and saw the three small Lear's macaws with distressed looks on their faces and then said, "Oh, right."

She then looked back at Veggie and Catina and said, "Right, you take care of Nigel while I take this unconscious Lear's macaw to safety."

"Then do so," commanded Veggie. Then without any more hesitation, Cometa took off, gently picked up Sapphire's limp body in her talons and flew away, Mercury, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette in tow while the others rushed off after Nigel. Orquidea shot Cometa a distrustful look.

"Should we trust that falcon?" she asked.

"Look, she has helped us a few times, so let her," said Saturn irritably, "Besides that, we don't have time to question our trust in Cometa. We have some unfinished business to deal with."

Orquidea sighed and with that, the group disappeared into the ferns and chased after Nigel.


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33- the climactic fight with Nigel**

Tulio and his team continued following Sunset and Cazador. They trekked through the undergrowth faster than ever. Soon, they arrived in the clearing where Tulio and his group's helicopter was parked. It was raining by now and thunder was heard in the sky overhead. While Tulio and his group left the clutter of trees into the free open space of the deforested area, Sunset continued flying back towards the battlefield where the macaws and poachers still fought, with Cazador still hot on her tail. However, the fatigue from flying so fast had finally taken its toll on Sunset and she was beginning to slow down. Her muscles severely ached and she was breathing rapidly from flying so fast for so long but she refused to stop. Tulio and his team ran through the clearing, their arms over their heads as they ran through the rain until the met the pilot.

"There's a great battle going on through there," he said, pointing to the line of vegetation dividing the deforested area. At this, Tulio and his team were about to rush off when they saw something approach them.

"Look, it's another falcon," said Jack.

"And it's got something in its talons," said Jill. At this, Tulio looked and saw that the falcon, which was Cometa, was carrying a bundle of navy blue feathers in her talons. Behind her were four more Lear's macaws, one male adult who struggled to fly based on the scratch on his side and three baby macaws. Susan instantly recognised the macaws.

"It's Mercury and his family," she said, "And it looks like Mercury's mate had been…"

Before she could finish, Cometa handed Tulio the limp Sapphire. As soon as he had taken Sapphire from the falcon's talons and as Mercury landed on Susan's arms, clutching his injured side, Tulio shot the pilot and some other team members trained in treating injured animals an urgent look.

"Set up the medical facility of the chopper, quickly," he commanded. The pilot and the others immediately obeyed and rushed for the helicopter to do just that. Tulio then handed Linda the limp and unconscious Sapphire.

"You take this Lear's macaw to the medical facility while we see to the poachers," he said. Linda obediently took Sapphire and left, followed by Susan who had Mercury. As the humans split up, some rushing to the helicopter's cargo bay to grab net guns for they had deduced that the poachers had a lot of flying pets, Cometa shot Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette a look.

"Now you three stay by your parents' sides while I see to some unfinished business," she commanded.

"And what's that?" asked Phoebe but Cometa had already rocketed off to where she last saw Cazador. Giving up, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette followed Linda and the others to the helicopter.

Sunset, who was by now very tired finally dropped out of the air as her wings gave out. However, as she fell towards earth, a grey and ivory rocket flew in and caught her in his talons. Seeing that Sunset was now exhausted, Cazador's face twisted into a sadistic look.

"Looks like your number is up, cockatoo," he crooned and with that, he held Sunset in one talon and prepared the other to kill her when suddenly, "Don't you DARE harm that cockatoo, Cazador!"

At this, Cazador's face changed from sadistic to annoyance and he turned to face the speaker as she flew towards him.

"Cometa!" he snarled, "Why are you not helping us catch those wretched macaws?"

Cometa did not reply. Below the two falcons, a group of humans emerged from the dividing strip of vegetation and stopped in horror as they saw the tremendous battle still raging between the poachers and the macaws. The man at the front was Tulio. When Cazador saw them, his face morphed to one of lost hope.

"No," he murmured. He then eyed Cometa, a furious look on his face. In his talons, Sunset began to come round.

"You really have done it this time, Cometa," snarled Cazador bitterly. The disgusted look never left Cometa's face and she finally decided to reveal her change of side.

"You have exactly THREE SECONDS to tell us why you have betrayed us," screeched Cazador at the top of his voice, "Or you'll…"

Finally, Cometa let loose her built-up anger and began to fire a series of words at her former leader. She might as well reveal everything she had kept in the dark all this time for she now saw that it was no longer necessary to keep her alliance to the macaws a secret.

"You wanna know WHY I worked against you behind your backs!?" screeched the female falcon, "It's because I DO NOT LIKE this whole business of poaching animals just to smuggle out of Brazil for money, certainly not critically endangered macaws. I especially HATED how you and our owners treated those poor macaws back at our base in Rio, leaving them half-starved and collapsing from hunger."

Cazador tried to retort but Cometa swept on. "And furthermore, I never even LIKED that disgusting cockatoo the moment we first met him and when you decided to recruit him and his cat friends, I was SICK to the STOMACH, especially by his filthy habits and horrible choice of food."

Cometa winced in revulsion at the thought of Nigel. "You know something, given the choice, I would have revealed my true colours during our trip to here, but I did not because I wanted to ensure that this group gets caught and turned in."

"How DARE you!" screeched Cazador and then, without thinking, he dropped Sunset and lashed at Cometa but the female falcon dived down straight for Tulio. Cazador followed. While Cazador chased Cometa, Sunset managed to recover herself and fly away to Tulio's helicopter but her flight muscles screamed in agony from the wild chase Sunset had to go through with Cazador hot on her tail. Cometa continued flying down towards Tulio and his team, many of which had net guns prepared, Cazador closing in behind her.

"I'm gonna FLAY YA for BETRAYING us, you TRAITOR!" snarled the lead falcon and with that, he brought his talons to the front and prepared to slash Cometa the moment he caught up with her. However, Cometa continued diving down towards Tulio and the others with him. Tulio and part of his team looked on in utter horror as they watched the battle between the poachers and the macaws rage on.

"This is just like what happened with the loggers," breathed Tulio in awe. Suddenly, one of the women with him shouted, "Tulio, LOOK!"

At this, Tulio's head snapped in the direction of the woman's point and saw two falcons fly down towards him. At this, he commanded one of his team members to shoot them down with nets. One of the men obeyed and aimed his net gun at the falcons. Cometa saw one of Tulio's team members aim for her and Cazador and immediately darted left, leaving Cazador to face getting netted. Then before Cazador could react, a bang from the net gun was heard and a spider-web like thing flew towards the falcon. Cazador cried in utter shock and anger as the net entangled his body, knocking him out of the air and sending him plummeting towards earth. This done, two more of Tulio's team members rushed forward to grab the falcon while he writhed in the netting.

"Oh, bother" growled Cazador as he was picked up. While Cazador was being seen to, Tulio called for security in Manaus and told them about the poacher situation and to send in help to the Sanctuary de Amazon at once.

 **Meanwhile**

Nigel continued running and hopping through the vegetation and ferns, a gloating look smearing his ragged face. He clearly enjoyed strangling Sapphire and seeing her struggle for air and was even laughing to himself. However, this was the last straw for Mercury's friends who were pursuing him through the vegetation, looks of thunder plastering their faces. The rain continued falling and lightning flashed, lighting the darkened forest in a few split-second flickers. Nigel then tried to take off but he could not due to his tattered wings. Grunting, he continued running on. Behind him, Veggie, Catina and the macaws, Travis, Eustace, Milo and Rosa continued their pursuit. Some of them, among them Blu and Jewel for they were determined to give the cockatoo a piece of their mind, had taken off to try and cut Nigel off from the front.

"There he is," shouted Neptune when he saw a flash of grey-white, green and yellow through the clutter of trees and ferns. At this, Blu and Jewel, together with Jupiter, Saturn and Mars, accelerated and began to overtake Nigel. Nigel continued running along. When he saw some flashes of cerulean, red, aqua blue and yellow fly past him through the trees, he growled and changed his mind. He decided to confront the group rather than flee from them for he had another family in mind to cause heartbreak. Nigel then hid amongst a large patch of ferns as two Spix macaws, a scarlet macaw with a muscular build, a green-winged macaw and a blue-and-gold macaw flew in and touched down where he stood. Then the five began to look around as the others turned up. As soon as they did, Jupiter commanded Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Ceres and Cobalto to look after all the chicks, including Travis and Sunset's three, despite some of them protesting.

"You take that lot to a safe spot while we search for Nigel, you four," he said. Pluto nodded and commanded the chicks to follow him and the other three.

"But Uncle Pluto," said Carla, "We wanna help."

"I'm afraid it's too dangerous, Carla," said Pluto firmly, "Nigel is an extremely dangerous cockatoo and he could kill you if you get caught by him."

"Yes," said Ceres darkly, "And the last thing any of us want is any of our chicks getting hurt or even killed and we cannot take any chances."

"Well, I don't wanna face the wrath of that deranged meanie, anyway," said Justin timidly and warily.

"Absolutely not," said Charlotte. Matilda nodded in agreement. Virgil, however, had other ideas.

"I wanna attack him," he bellowed. Veggie, at this, walked in.

"Virgil, don't be silly," he rebuked, "Nigel is a powerful cockatoo and he could easily overpower and kill you," he raised his voice to a harsher tone to ensure that all the chicks got the message, "Now do as your elders say!"

The chicks, at this, flinched and reluctantly, they all obeyed. All the chicks then followed Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Ceres and Cobalto to the safety of the branches higher up in the rainforest. Veggie looked on as a pang of guilt crept over him for shouting at the chicks as Venus and Zephyr walked in with a frown on their faces.

"You didn't have to shout at the kids, Veggie," Venus said slightly irritated.

"I'm sorry, Venus," said Veggie regrettably, "But I just wanted to get the message through to the chicks."

He then looked at Venus and Zephyr. "You'd better get to safety too," he said, "Nigel will want to kill you as well and I don't want that to happen."

Venus and Zephyr nodded in understanding and took off after Pluto and the others to hide with them. From his hiding place, Nigel hissed furiously, his brown eyes fixed on Veggie.

"I'm gonna kill you for that, tabby cat," he hissed. Soon, the other macaws, Catina and Veggie began to look around for Nigel.

"He was right here but he's disappeared," said Saturn. Blu rolled his eyes in utter irritation.

"Smart escape artist and devious trickster, as always," he snarled.

"I hope Sapphire's alright," said Mars worriedly.

"Look, just forget Sapphire and her family for now," said Travis, "They're in good hands and let's focus on looking for Nigel."

Mars nodded and continued searching for Nigel. In the trees, Pluto looked down at the group as they continued their search.

"I cannot see that sickening cockatoo anywhere," he said. At this, Lapis Lazuli began to examine the ferns until her blue eyes landed on a small dash of grey-white amongst the cover of green fern leaves. At this, she drew in a short gasp and none of the macaws or Veggie and Catina's eyes looked in that direction, but Veggie was very close to where Nigel was hiding. At this, Lapis Lazuli took off and tried to get Veggie's attention. From his hiding place, Nigel prepared to make his move as Veggie was now close to where he was. Nigel had had a change of plan. He had decided to target Veggie instead of Zephyr since Veggie was the one to tell those two macaws to get to safety while the rest of the group searched for Nigel. As the tabby cat backed towards the spot where Nigel was, Nigel prepared to leap out and brutally attack the cat. However, he was about to have his cover blown. As Veggie looked around, his brown eyes keenly scanning the environment for any flash of grey-white in a green and yellow vest, he saw Lapis Lazuli hover near him out the corner of his eye. At this, Veggie turned to her and Lapis Lazuli tried to indicate that Nigel was directly behind him in the patch of ferns. At this, Veggie turned round to investigate the patch of ferns. At this, Lapis Lazuli swooped down as Veggie's forepaw went toward one of the leaves to lift it up. The others looked at Veggie as he was about to lift up the ferns when suddenly, a rich blue blur shot in and disappeared into the ferns, making Veggie jump.

"Lapis Lazuli?" he asked. At this, the other macaws and Catina shot a look at Pluto, Zephyr, Venus, Ceres, Cobalto and the chicks when suddenly, angry screeches and the sounds of a fight exploded from the ferns, while the ferns themselves jerked about. A few grey-white feathers and blue feathers also flew everywhere as Lapis Lazuli and whoever was in the ferns viciously fought. Then a minute later, two birds, one grey-white with a tattered vest and the other rich blue with a grey head and yellow facial features, exploded from the ferns and crashed to the ground right in front of the other macaws and the two cats.

"Lapis Lazuli!" cried Pluto and with that, he rocketed down to her to inspect her. Both Lapis Lazuli and Nigel looked beaten up and Nigel appeared to have another scratch inflicted on his head, this time on the left side, and Lapis Lazuli had a cut on her shoulder but she had managed to deliver more scratches and bites to Nigel than he did her. The moment Nigel was visible, an extremely enraged screech exploded from Blu and Jewel and they pounced onto the cockatoo while Pluto took Lapis Lazuli to safety. Next, Nigel found himself pinned against the tree trunk by the neck by the talon of an extremely angry Spix macaw, his brown eyes ablaze with fury.

"Hah, looks like your cover has been blown, Nigel," cackled Blu smugly. Nigel, at this, glared daggers with his nemesis, before his eyes travelled to Lapis Lazuli. He then winced from the pain coming from the fresh set of claw marks on the left side of his head which were leaking with a bit of blood.

"Ow, my head," muttered Nigel. He raised a ragged wing to where Lapis Lazuli had scratched him and glared bitterly at the female glaucous macaw.

"It's what you get for messing with us, you filthy vulture," growled Lapis Lazuli scornfully, "But that is only the tip of the enormous branch you will be facing from us after the trouble you have caused all of us, especially Sapphire."

Nigel ignored the female glaucous macaw as Pluto led her away before glaring fiercely at Blu and the others as they gathered around, including Veggie and Catina. The looks of all the macaws and both cats were thunderous and highly venomous. However, Nigel did not care one bit.

"Well, you lot, looks like we might have a little change of plan," crooned the cockatoo nastily. At this, Blu tightened the grip on his throat to the point of almost cutting off his breathing.

"We don't wanna hear your tacky ideas, you tacky cockatoo," shouted Blu hostilely, his blue feathers puffed out, "You have gone far enough this time."

"Yes, absolutely," said Catina in agreement.

"Your attempt at killing Sapphire is the final straw," said Jupiter, his face like the storms of his namesake planet, "She now could be _dying_ because of YOU!"

Nigel, at this, tittered.

"Good," he crooned, "At least that grey-eyed Lear's macaw and his daughters will have their hearts torn in two."

At this, disgust tore through the macaws and the cats at Nigel's completely remorseless comment. Then Catina stepped forward and clicked her claws.

"I think it's time for you to face serious consequences, cockatoo," she growled.

"Absolutely," added Jewel, clearly desperate to sink her beak and claws into Nigel's flesh. A mocking laugh escaped Nigel's throat.

"Oh really?" he crooned, "And what are you gonna do, calico? Claw me outright?"

None of the macaws or cats responded to this at first but then Catina walked in and shoved her face close to Nigel's beak.

"Given that option, yes," growled the calico, her flaming baby blue eyes glaring into Nigel's overconfident brown eyes, "But we're gonna let you off one final time."

At this, Blu and Jewel shot the calico a look but Nigel made a frown.

"Aren't you gonna take me back if you are?" he asked, "So that I could go back to Rio where I'll be reunited with that Gabi frog who will smother me with that humiliating affection for the rest of my days?"

Catina hardened her gaze. "We are NOT gonna take you back," she growled, "Neither are you gonna come back with us. We're gonna leave you here to find your own way out of this mess. If you run into serious, even life-threatening danger, don't blame us."

Nigel, at this, shook his head in utter shock but Catina swept on.

"I thought you would have heeded my warning not to cause us trouble or lay a claw on any exotic bird when we crossed paths back in Rio before all this happened but it is clear that you have not listened," she continued, "You have intruded into our house, injured one of my sons, terrorised my feathered friends, and even had the audacity to brutally injure one of Dash and Ginger's daughters and even attempt to kill one of the Lear's macaws just to shatter her mate's heart and those of her three daughters, so I'm afraid you have really crossed the line Nigel so, we're gonna leave you here."

"I sure hope you'll end up eaten by a jaguar or something," said Blu scornfully. Catina then withdrew her face from Nigel's.

"We have been totally wrong in the belief that you would have listened to our warnings before you started putting us through this mess," she added.

"Too wrong," added Veggie, his fur puffed out. The macaws all nodded in agreement. Nigel's mocking glare, however, remained on his face.

"Now once Blu releases you from his grasp," added Catina, "You are gonna leave to wander through the jungle and never return."

"Well, if that is what you want," said Nigel, "Then I'll do just that if that makes you happy."

"Good," snapped Blu and with that, he withdrew his talon and stood back, releasing Nigel from his grip. The others looked on and said nothing.

"Now you will get out of here and never even THINK of following us back to Tulio's group," growled Blu unsympathetically, "And I hope some ecologists will find you and take you back to Rio but if you EVER come back to cause us trouble again, we will kill you."

"Alright, if that is what you want, then so be it," growled Nigel bitterly and with that, he began to slink away from the group, their hard gazes fixed on him. From the trees, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Travis, Zephyr and Venus, Ceres and Cobalto watched as the cockatoo began to step away. However, inside his head, Nigel had other ideas. As he crept away, his talon wrapped around a ball of wet mud.

"You bunch of… good-for-nothing, rotten, pretty birds and KITTY CAAATS!" as he finished this sentence with a growl, Nigel picked up the ball of mud and hurled it at the group. The ball flew straight at Blu's face and splattered all over it, coating his face in brown slime. Blu cried in shock and began to brush the wet mud away from his face but then a grey-white, green and yellow blur shot in and tackled him, knocking him down. Blu was flung into a patch of ferns, much to the cries of the others. Then Nigel jumped up and prepared to slash Blu when a white, ginger and black blur shot in and tackled him away. Catina released an enraged screech as she knocked the deranged cockatoo from Blu. Nigel tumbled to a stop near another patch of ferns as lightning flashed, but he got up and rushed towards the group, a blood-curdling screech exploding from his beak. However, Jewel ran in, jumped up and scored her claws across Nigel's torso, tearing his vest and inflicting more scratches, much to Nigel's pained cries. However, this did not put out the fire of revenge burning inside the barbaric cockatoo and he lunged at the group again. However, the group scattered but Nigel's beak managed to close on Chiquitita's tail. Chiquitita, at this, screeched but then Mars rushed in and jumped onto Nigel's back and clamped his beak onto his crest. Nigel, at this, released Chiquitita's tail and began to writhe and bolt like a horse to throw Mars off his back but the green-winged macaw, his orange eyes ablaze with violent dust storms like those on his namesake planet, clamped his beak ever harder onto his crest to hang on.

While Nigel flailed around like a bull in an attempt to dislodge Mars from his back, Saturn, Orquidea, Uranus and Esmeralda flew in and began to pelt Nigel with mud and dirt, being careful to avoid hitting Mars. Nigel, with an enraged screech, finally let his temper reach boiling point as brown stuff splattered all over his face and body. With another enraged screech, he shook violently and began to shake Mars off his back but Mars's beak remained clamped onto his crest. However, the crest feathers were beginning to be torn from his head for Mars had his beak powerfully clamped onto his crest. A sickening tear, along with excruciating pain, emanated from the crest feathers and Nigel let loose an ear-piercing screech until finally, after one violent bolt, Mars was thrown into a mud puddle, his beak full of all the crest feathers from Nigel's head. as Nigel watched Mars stand up and spit the load of pale yellow feathers from his beak, a horrible feeling tore through him and he felt his head. To his horror he realised that Mars had pulled out all his crest feathers. Then Jewel shot him a scornful glare.

"You certainly do look better without that crest of yours," she crooned mockingly. Blu, Chiquitita, Ruby, Orquidea, Esmeralda, Ultramarine, and Cobalto, Zephyr and Lapis Lazuli and some of the chicks in the tree including Carla, Bia and Tiago burst out laughing at Nigel's now bald head but Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Travis, Veggie, Catina and Pluto stifled the urge to laugh at Nigel's baldness. At this, Nigel let loose an enraged screech and turned to Mars much to his horror.

"I'm gonna BREAK YA NECK for tearing out my MOST VALUED TRAIT, you DISGUSTING RED-FEATHERED…" bellowed the cockatoo but before he could charge towards Mars to brutally claw him, a cerulean blur shot in and tackled him.

"I think NOT, you disgusting cockatoo!" snarled Jewel as she bowled Nigel over and with that, she began to unleash the wrath she had bottled up all this time all over the cockatoo in the form of claw scratches and bites but Nigel fought back. Both the Spix macaw and the cockatoo were locked in a whirlwind of grey-white, green, yellow, cerulean and black as the two scratched and bit each other. Feathers and blood drops flew everywhere from the whirlwind alongside screeches of fury and agony. Then after a few more minutes of vicious fighting, Jewel, covered in scratches and cuts, flew away, turned round and before Nigel could raise a wing to attack her, the highly aggressive Spix macaw viciously tackled him in the side and brutally rammed him against a nearby tree trunk. A sickening crack was heard as Nigel's left wing was caught between the tree trunk and Nigel's body. Then as Jewel came away, Nigel slumped down but then he felt excruciating pain explode from his left wing. At this, he bellowed and grabbed his broken wing.

"M-m-my WIIIIING!" he bellowed. Jewel, at this, made a scornful and mocking look.

"Ooops-a-daisy," she crooned spitefully, "Looks like I have accidentally given my most detested cockatoo the same injury he had inflicted on me on that plane."

She then spat on the floor before Nigel and added, "And I hope it hurts, you rotten cockatoo."

Nigel, at this, shot Jewel a venomous look but then a berry flew and hit him in the face. At this, he looked up and was struck in the face again with another red berry. From the tree branch, Ceres, Cobalto, Travis, Zephyr, Venus, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli were hurling fruit at the deranged cockatoo, as were the chicks.

"Don't you even THINK of attacking Jewel, you savage piece of work," shouted Zephyr as he flung another berry at Nigel. Then Cobalto took off and flew closer to Nigel to pelt him at closer range. Nigel cried and covered his head with his other, unharmed wing as the aggressive blue-throated macaw continued flinging fruit at him. Red and blue flesh and juice exploded on contact as they flew from Cobalto's talons and struck him. Nigel then tried to run away but he was met with a barrage of more mud and dirt thrown from Veggie, Jupiter, Ruby, Neptune and Ultramarine who prevented his from escaping. As the brown, blue and red missiles continued slamming into Nigel, the cockatoo released an enraged squawk and then finally exploded. Then expectantly, the cockatoo jumped into the air and grabbed Cobalto by the wing with his beak and dragged him towards the ground. Cobalto, at this, cried in shock and tried to flap away but Nigel kept a firm grip on his wing.

"COBALTO!" cried Ceres.

"I'm gonna break your wing, you blue-throated pest!" snarled the sadistic cockatoo but Cobalto, with an enraged screech, retaliated by slashing Nigel's face and body with his talons. Nigel released the blue-throated macaw's wing and Cobalto finally let his fury loose and inflicted more scratches on Nigel. Jewel then joined in the fray and soon, the cockatoo faced claw swipes from two enraged macaws, but Jewel was more aggressive than Cobalto and she proceeded to inflict as many painful scratches on her nemesis as possible, practically scoring her claws over Nigel's flesh. The others watched on as the female Spix macaw, a volcanic eruption flaring in her teal eyes and the blue-throated macaw as they continued inflicting Nigel with more and more scratches, and Veggie could feel the acidity of the hatred Jewel had for Nigel. It was far more acidic than any acidic substance he had ever heard of and Ruby and Chiquitita knew that Jewel's hatred for Nigel was ten times than the hatred she, Zephyr and Brisa used to harbour for them when the red tribe and the Spix tribe had been enemies. Carla, Bia and Tiago cheered for their mother as she continued inflicting Nigel with more and more gashes but some of the macaws, including Venus and Jupiter, thought that Jewel was going over-the-top with her clawing of Nigel.

"I think Jewel is taking that WAY overboard," said Ceres.

"I'm not surprised," said Zephyr unsympathetically, "She's wanted to give that vulture a piece of his mind for a long time."

Then Cobalto left to rest, leaving Jewel to finish landing as many scratches on Nigel as possible. Nigel continued to screech and squawk in agony as the volcanic Spix macaw continued raking her claws over his flesh. Nigel screeched as one of Jewel's talons slashed over his face, before her face appeared before his, scorn and sadism plastered all over her face.

"You won't believe how long I have wanted to do that, Nigel," she cackled nastily. At this, Nigel tried to head-butt Jewel but she dodged and retaliated with another brutal slash across the face with her talons. Then Jewel proceeded to screech as loudly as she could directly into the cockatoo's face, frightening him out of his tattered and bloodied plumage. Nigel, fear exploding volcanically within him, then tried to flee but he was met with a paw swipe from Veggie which knocked him down while Jewel added more brutal scratches to Nigel's body. Then as soon as Jewel had stopped her rage, Zephyr then took his turn and swooped down on Nigel from the branch as he stood up. Then before Nigel could take action, Zephyr ploughed into him and sent him flying into another tree trunk. Pain exploded from his broken wing and Nigel slid down onto the floor at the foot of the tree. He was covered in bloody wounds and his vest was tattered and torn but Blu and his group were not done with him yet. Nigel then stood up and eyed Veggie, who hissed loudly at him with his fur puffed out but Nigel did not back down from the tabby cat's threat and began to advance towards him despite the pain from his injuries, an enraged screech exploding from his beak. At this, Jupiter and Ruby jumped to the front of Veggie and spread their wings protectively across the cat as the cockatoo got closer. But before Nigel could take another step towards Veggie and the scarlet macaw pair, another blue come shot in and viciously tackled him. Veggie, Jupiter and Ruby flinched as Blu then heaved his nemesis off the ground and sent him flying towards the branch where Venus was. Nigel screamed until finally, he struck the branch. Nigel then clamped his beak onto a nearby twig as he was about to fall. Under the branch ran a stream and it was rushing and Nigel was dangling right over it, the branch threatening to snap and send him careening into the stream. Lightning flashed in the sky and the rain continued to pour. The macaws, Veggie and Catina looked on as Nigel dangled helplessly from the branch. Jewel was especially smug to see her most hated cockatoo covered in scratches with a broken wing.

"That sure was fun giving him a piece of our mind, wasn't it?" she tittered smugly. Jupiter rolled his eyes in irritation.

"You didn't have to go completely overboard with clawing him, Jewel," said Jupiter. Jewel just let loose a snigger and then looked up as Nigel dangled over the rushing stream. Then Venus walked in, her amber eyes fixed on the murderer of her and Mercury's families as he struggled to get his talons onto the branch to prevent falling into the stream. However, due to the excruciating pain emanating from his many injuries including his broken wing, this was difficult. Venus then stood right over Nigel as he continued to struggle. His brown eyes then locked with Venus's amber pair and Venus could see the maniacal flame within them. Venus then made a bitter scowl. However, despite all that Nigel had done including to what he had done to her and Mercury when they were chicks, she did not feel any murderous hatred towards him. Nigel then sneered at Venus as she was faced with a decision whether to let him die or save him. The waters of the stream below churned turbulently as they flowed, and if Nigel were to fall into it now, he would land in the stream and be carried away by the current, likely to his death. However, despite this possible fate and the extreme pain emanating from his broken wing and wounds, Nigel's evil smile remained on his beak. He glared fiercely at Venus as she continued to look over him bitterly. Then a snapping noise was heard, the twig which Nigel was clinging on was starting to crack.

"Leave me, pigtails," said Nigel, knowing that he was now helpless. Venus continued looking over him as the crack in the branch began to elongate. The others, including Blu and Jewel, watched on, the latter two expecting Venus to allow Nigel to fall into the stream to his death.

"Leave me to die, if you want," said Nigel, "Since I've been the one to kill your parents, you might as well leave me to die."

Venus, at this, hardened her gaze.

"You know something," she growled, "Given the choice, I would."

The crack continued to elongate until finally, it reached the bottom side of the twig, leading it to snap and break. Nigel gasped as he plummeted towards the river but before he could hit the water, to his surprise, he was hovering centimetres above the rushing water, being held by something by the right wing, his undamaged one. At this, Nigel's gaze snapped up to whoever was clinging to his right wing and to his surprise, Venus was grasping his right wing with her talons. The others looked on in wonder.

"But if I did allow you to perish," said Venus, struggling at the weight of the cockatoo, "I would be just as savage as you are when you killed my family and Mercury's as well!"

As she said this, she hauled the protesting Nigel back towards the bank where the others waited, and placed him before the others before landing next to Jupiter. Nigel looked up in utter shock at Venus's decision to save his life despite what he had done to her and her friends, and Blu and Jewel were especially flabbergasted. However, Nigel was soon faced with a crowd of hostile faces but this time, the faces were not as hostile. Then Catina stepped forward as Nigel flinched from the pain from his many wounds, many of which were bleeding, and his broken wing. Tears had welled in the calico's eyes as she approached him.

"You know something, Nigel, I just really wish you'd have listened to my warning when we met back in Rio," she wailed. Nigel glared back at her with bitter eyes.

"But after what you have put us through for the past few days," cried Catina, tears spilling down her face, "It is clear that you're not willing to change your ways and learn your lessons."

A few sobs then escaped Catina's throat as she began to weep. Nigel glared back at her, the characteristic deranged look he had always had since he had turned to smuggling after losing his career to a parakeet still plastering his face.

"I would rather see all pretty birds miserable and heartbroken even if it means spending the rest of my life causing them misery, calico!" bellowed the cockatoo. Catina, at this, looked up at him. Finally, she had had enough and did not want to be in the presence of this deranged cockatoo any longer.

"Let's go, everyone," she said, barely able to control her emotions.

"What about Nigel?" asked Mars.

"He's staying here," snarled Blu, "He can find his own way out of this mess."

Nigel, at this, flinched in surprise.

"WHAT!?" he snapped. Catina shot him a bitter glare.

"You heard him, Nigel," she screeched, "You're NOT coming back with us!"

Nigel, at this, stared back at Catina in utter shock. Then with one more last look at the cockatoo, Catina said, "Let's go, everyone."

And with that, Catina turned her back on the cockatoo who stared after her as though she had suddenly sprouted wings. Then the group began to follow her. Venus stared at Nigel one final time and left with the others. Nigel continued gazing after the group as they left without even acknowledging him. With a broken wing and so many brutal injuries, the chances of Nigel coming out of this mess alive were slim. However, despite Venus's decision to save him and allow him to live and Catina's warnings, the vengeful urge flared within him once again. As Catina and the others continued making their way back through the vegetation to the others, and Tulio and his team, they reunited with their chicks who hugged their parents, glad that they weren't badly hurt. Carla, Bia and Tiago hugged Jewel and Blu while Justin, Charlotte, Matilda, Virgil, and hugged Venus. Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre hugged Chiquitita and Mars while Jupiter and Ruby received a hug from Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Saturn and Orquidea stood with Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus standing around them while Uranus and Esmeralda hugged Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon. Ceres and Cobalto did the same to Aurelio, Wilbur and Azul and Pluto and Lapis Lazuli also hugged Charon, Quincy, Flor and Blueberry. Travis had Eustace, Milo and Rosa with him and Neptune, Ultramarine stood by with Triton and Indigo.

"You certainly were AWESOME, Mom," cried Tiago as he hugged Jewel, "You really did show that cockatoo what for."

"And Uncle Cobalto was awesome as well," said Carla, nodding to Cobalto as he hugged his family.

"Uncle Mars was the one who managed to tear off that horrible cockatoo's crest," said Bia.

Jewel formed a smug smirk on her beak and said, "Well I hope he'll never bother us again, especially after this day, and I hope he becomes a laughingstock for all the exotic birds now that he is left crestless."

Mars sighed and prepared to fly away with Chiquitita, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre in tow. Suddenly, a blood-curdling squawk exploded from behind the group. Veggie shot the macaws a look.

"Did any of you lot just screech?" he asked.

"It wasn't us, Veggie," said Neptune in reply as he held Triton and Indigo. At this, Catina, a horrible thought flaring within her, whipped round and when she saw what was charging toward the group from behind, horror exploded within her.

"GUYS," she shouted, "Look OUT!"

No sooner than these words escaped her mouth, when the macaws and Travis turned round and immediately scattered as an extremely aggressive cockatoo rushed in and tried to attack them. The kids screamed as their parents scooped them up to take them away. Even Blu and Jewel carried their three kids away. Catina, at this, snapped from horror to fury.

"NIGEL!" she bellowed, "WHEN ARE YOU GONNA LISTEN TO…"

Suddenly, Nigel, whose face was bloodied and his mind warped from his temper, lashed at her, raised a talon and attempted to slash her across the face but Catina dodged and ran off. Then Nigel whipped round and saw Blu and his family as they hugged their kids closer to them, eyes frightened and stunned at Nigel's continuous desire for revenge despite his broken wing and other injuries. Next to them were Zephyr, Venus, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil, the latter four who were extremely frightened. Then with an extremely enraged screech, Nigel charged towards the Spix macaws, his crazed brown eyes filled with the murderous desire to kill them. Then Catina rushed in and knocked all eleven Spix macaws aside as the deranged cockatoo jumped up and flared his talons, ready to claw them.

"LOOK OUT!" she cried, but soon she found herself in the Spix macaws' place as Nigel continued flying towards her, his talons outstretched. Catina had no time to react and as Nigel's talons scored down her side, she emitted an extremely loud screech of agony.

"CATINA!" cried Veggie. He then whipped round to the other macaws and shouted, "Get those chicks of yours to safety, QUICK!"

The macaws and Travis obeyed without hesitation and scooped up their chicks in their talons and fled, Blu, Venus and their families close behind. However, one family was still in the process of taking off. When Nigel saw Jupiter and Ruby, the latter who had Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto in her talons, begin to flap into flight, his eyes flared with bitter hatred and revenge. Leaving the wounded Catina as Veggie ran in, Nigel charged at the scarlet macaw family.

"JUPITER, RUBY!" shouted Zephyr. Pluto, at this, tried to fly to the scarlet macaw family but Saturn stopped him, knowing he'd be seriously hurt. When Jupiter and Ruby saw the deranged cockatoo rush towards them, aiming straight for Ruby, Jupiter made a split second decision.

"Look out!" shouted Jupiter and with that, he tackled Ruby and his chicks away a split second before Nigel caught him. Then both the battered cockatoo and the scarlet macaw tumbled from an overhang and fell towards the rushing river, Nigel with his talons wrapped tightly around Jupiter's neck.

"JUPITER!" screeched Ruby as she watched her mate fall towards the stream. Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto also cried for their dad and the others, including Veggie, looked on in utter horror. Jupiter struggled in Nigel's grasp and flapped his wings as the surface of the water continued to rush towards them in an attempt to fly. However, with Nigel hanging onto his neck, this was impossible.

"Let me go, you BARBARIC VULTURE!" snarled the scarlet macaw but Nigel refused to do so.

"If I can't devastate pigtails and Blu's family," screeched the cockatoo, "I'll devastate YOURS instead!"

These were the last words that had escaped Nigel's beak before an enormous splash sounded as the cockatoo and scarlet macaw hit the water.


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34- struggle in the stream and the aftermath part 1**

Jupiter did not expect the water to be so cold, but due to the temperature difference between the water and the hot and humid air of the Amazon, the shock of facing a sudden temperature change sent his body into overdrive. Furthermore, the stream was surprisingly deep, probably about two or three metres and because Jupiter and Nigel had plummeted from quite a high drop, they plunged about a metre from the surface of the water to be then swept away by the current, with a cloud of red mist forming around Nigel as his some of his wounds continued to bleed. Under the water, Jupiter continued struggling to free his neck from Nigel's vice-like talons. As the two tumbled violently from the rushing water, the cockatoo and scarlet macaw continued fighting, Nigel trying to keep Jupiter under the water while Jupiter tried to escape. Bubbles escaped their beaks as they exhaled during their fight and as Nigel yelped in pain from his broken wing and many wounds, his cries garbled by the water. The water was also murky and brown, and as the two birds smacked against the sides of the stream, sediment billowed up into a cloud that enveloped the two birds and Jupiter thought he saw two or three silvery flashes of startled fish as they swam out of the way of the brawling birds. Above the water, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto flew above the surface with Mars, Ceres, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Venus, shouting for Jupiter while the rest had flown over to inspect Catina's injury. Blu was horrified at the severity of the scratch inflicted on Catina's body by Nigel. Travis, Zephyr, Ultramarine, Cobalto, Orquidea, Jewel and Lapis Lazuli kept the kids back, not wanting them to see the injury on Catina's body. Esmeralda and Chiquitita, meanwhile, had gathered some moss to try and help slow the bleeding.

"We'd better get her out of this place to the humans now," cried Blu, "She's losing blood at a fast rate."

"But how are we gonna carry her to Tulio and his team?" asked Orquidea as she held her wings out in front of some of the chicks, one of them being Bia, to prevent them from seeing Catina's state and as Esmeralda and Chiquitita tried slowing the rate of blood leakage from Catina's injury using the moss. Catina looked up at Veggie and her bird friends, her face twisted in utter agony. Then Veggie saw Pluto hover nearby, torn whether to help Venus and the others search for Jupiter or help tend to Catina.

"You go help Venus find Jupiter and Nigel," he said, "While we try and get Catina to our human friends."

Pluto, at this, obeyed Veggie's suggestion and followed Venus and the others. Then Ultramarine, Travis and Cobalto flew in to help carry Catina to safety. While Veggie's group prepared to transport the seriously injured Catina from the rainforest, Venus's group including Ruby and her four chicks continued scanning the surface of the rushing water of the stream for any flash of vermillion, grey-white and yellow and green, Ruby continuously shouting Jupiter's name despite how dry her throat was becoming, and it was not easy flying about in the rain and it was now chucking it down. Furthermore, the winds had picked up and were howling through the jungle. Then Uranus had an idea.

"Hey, you guys," called Uranus, "Do you think the current may have carried them downstream?"

"It's a possibility," said Mars, "Since this current is quite strong and the water appears deep. Let's follow the river and try and find Jupiter."

And with that, the group left. Neptune called to Veggie's group.

"We'll be back when we find Jupiter," he called. Veggie and the others with him shouted in reply and soon, Venus's group was out of sight, while Veggie's group began to transport Catina out of the rainforest. Some of the chicks began to cry.

"Make sure you find Uncle Jupiter," cried Phobos distressfully, "I don't want him to die at the clutch of that horrible cockatoo."

Deimos and Alexandre also broke down as did the other chicks. Travis began to hug each of them to comfort them.

"I agree, you lot," he said, "But let's focus on getting Catina to safety first."

The chicks all nodded and with that they followed their elders and Veggie as they removed Catina from the rainforest, Esmeralda and Chiquitita keeping a close watch on Catina's wound and trying to control the blood loss with more moss. Back down the stream, Venus, Mars, Ruby and her chicks, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Pluto continued flying over the rushing water, looking for any signs of Jupiter and Nigel and calling for him. Ruby was in utter horror and anguish. She could not believe this was happening to Jupiter but had he not reacted in time when Nigel charged them, she, together with Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto would have been attacked and possibly killed instead of Jupiter but Ruby did not care about that. She just wanted to find her mate as quickly as possible before he drowned. Desperately, Ruby continued her search with the other macaws.

Nigel and Jupiter both broke the surface of the water, gasping for air but Nigel still maintained his iron grip on Jupiter's neck. It was clear he was trying to drag him back underwater to drown him. Nigel shot Jupiter the most murderous look the scarlet macaw had ever seen.

"Release me THIS MINUTE!" barked Jupiter loudly, "Or I'll claw or bite you to make you!"

Nigel, at this, smiled menacingly. His battered and clawed face made his sadistic face look more terrifying. "Not a chance, pretty bird," he cooed evilly, "Not until you DIE!"

Then before Jupiter could reply, a rush of water came over them and they were both submerged once again. Jupiter and Nigel then began to writhe underwater again, bubbles billowing all around them as they tumbled and struggled. Nigel's talons remained tight around Jupiter's neck with no signs of letting go, and despite the agony exploding from his broken wing and injuries; Nigel maintained his grip on Jupiter's neck, determined to drown the scarlet macaw. The two continued tumbling and flailing as the current continued to carry them down the stream, and soon, Jupiter's body was shouting for oxygen. Jupiter knew that he had to get to the surface and take a breath immediately or he would drown, but he could not with Nigel's vice-grip talon around his neck. Faced with a life-or-death choice, Jupiter glared stormily at the evil cockatoo who looked back at him with the evillest and most deranged look. Then when his need for air reached critical, Jupiter did something drastic. Without thinking, the scarlet macaw lashed out and closed his beak as hard as he could onto one of Nigel's legs. A garbled howl of extreme agony escaped Nigel's beak in the form of bubbles and the iron talon grip around Jupiter's neck went slack. After this, Jupiter made a break for the surface and took in a deep breath the moment his head was above the water. But soon he was swept underwater again by another rush of water. Macaws weren't designed to swim, which meant that although Jupiter was now free from Nigel's grasp, he was not out of danger yet. He continued flailing and struggling to stay on the surface but found it a grievous challenge for the water was rough. Soon the river came to a bifurcation. Nigel was carried down one split while Jupiter was carried down the other. Jupiter continued struggling to stay on the surface and tried to squawk for help but was continuously swept under it by rushes of water each time, his cries for help drowned by the water. Upstream, Venus and the others continued flying over the rushing water of the stream, scanning every square inch of the surface for any flash of colour before moving on.

"Can you see him?" called Ceres from one side of the stream.

"No," shouted Neptune in reply. As this, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto began to freak out.

"I hope he's not drowned!" cried out Ruby in distress and with that, she retreated to a nearby tree, her chicks in tow. Venus, seeing Ruby retreat, followed her to comfort her. She landed beside the distressed scarlet macaws and put a wing around Ruby as she began to sob her eyes out.

"Don't worry, we'll find him," she said.

"I hope we do!" wailed Ruby as tears fell from her eyes as heavily as the rain. She then began to break down in anguish. Pluto, at this, looked at Venus but she told him to continue the search. Pluto nodded in obedience and continued to help the others search for Jupiter.

 **Meanwhile**

Tulio and his team had managed to apprehend Lysandre and his group and capture the remaining falcons, crows and cats. The security from Manaus has finally arrived and has come to arrest the poachers. The macaws had all dispersed and had returned home as Tulio and his team arrived, but some had remained behind. As the poachers, whose hands were cuffed, were made to board the helicopters, the same ones they had used to fly to the Sanctuary de Amazon, Tulio, Linda, Jack, Jill and Lucy looked on with unsympathetic eyes. The poachers were all in a hideous state. Their clothing were tattered and torn, making them look as though they had been dragged through a briar of thorny plants, and their heads and arms were crisscrossed with bite and claw marks they had received from the macaws. The hair of most of them was also out of place, bedraggled and messy, with bald patches where hair had been torn out dotting their hair, and Lysandre looked the worst. He looked as though he had been in at the mercy of a furious cat based on the number of scratches on his face and body and his tattered and torn clothes and hair. The cats, crows and falcons apart from Cazador and Cometa were also battered and bruised. Bald patches dotted their bodies where feathers and fur had been torn out and scratches slashed through their plumage or pelage, and some of the crows were even missing flight feathers from their wings and tails. All the poachers and their pets winced in pain from their wounds as they walked. The macaws, together with Dash and company, certainly did reduce the poachers and their pets into seriously bedraggled mess. As Lysandre limped towards a helicopter in hand cuffs with a policeman behind him, he shot Tulio a pained look.

"Nice try on getting us fooled and sneaking into a protected reserve top poach critically endangered animals, pal but you have failed," said Tulio with no sympathy.

"B-b-but we were only…" began Lysandre but the policemen barked at him to board the helicopter, which he did. Nearby, the cats including Otis had been caged with the same cages used for holding any caught macaws, and they were being loaded into the cargo bays. Otis looked terribly shaken. He was covered in scratch and bite marks as well as torn out fur and his front left leg was broken, the result of Eduardo and Jewel's wrath and Eduardo had been the one to break his front leg. That attack from the enraged Spix macaw and his daughter had left Otis in hysterics. His eyes were saturated with extreme terror as though he had seen a ghost or monster, and he was trembling and wincing from the pain of his injuries. Nearby Tom and Moggy, who were in the same cage, gazed at Otis with sympathy.

"He won't be going anywhere near another macaw again, I can tell you," murmured Moggy, wincing slightly from her injuries.

"Neither will the rest of us," murmured Tom as he looked at the scratches slashing through the fur on his front legs. The two cats then fell silent as one of the authorities placed them into the cargo bay. While the clean-up operation was going on despite the rain, Dash, James, Danny, Avellana, Collette, Thomas and Daisy watched on from the shelter of some vegetation out of the rain. With them was Cometa. She had been allowed to stay behind for she had given Tulio the unconscious Sapphire and had helped the macaws to escape. She breathed a sigh as she watched her now-former group continue to get arrested and loaded onto the helicopters.

"How is your daughter, Dash?" she asked the light grey greyhound, "Have you checked on her yet?"

"You mean Esperanza?" asked Dash, "She's in a horrible state but she'll be alright. She's been cared for by some of the vets back at Tulio's helicopter."

"As are Sunset, Mercury and his family," said Danny, "At least they are in safe hands."

Then a thought entered Collette, Thomas and Daisy's heads.

"But the others aren't," said Collette, "Neither are Mom and Dad," she then gazed out into the clutter of the vegetation, "They've been missing for quite a while now."

"I hope they are alright," murmured Thomas worriedly.

"Especially that they are dealing with such a dangerous cockatoo," said Daisy. Suddenly, Cometa heard the rustling of leaves. At this, she snapped her head in the direction of the sound's source. When she saw a few flashes of colour through the vegetation, she said, "Um, guys I think it might be them."

At this, the cats and greyhounds turned round and followed Cometa's gaze. When they saw the flashes of colour through the vegetation and heard voices coming from them, Dash recognised their owners.

"I think it's Blu's group," he said, "It sounds like they are in a rush."

"Really?" said Cometa. Then dread hit her. "Don't tell me someone has been hurt, have they?"

"I don't know but we'll find out," said Dash and with that, the group abandoned their spot and rushed off after the flashes of colour and their voices, which indeed belonged to Blu and the others. However, half of the adult macaws were missing. While Dash and his group rushed off after Blu's group, Tulio and some of the others continued watching Lysandre's group as they boarded their helicopters with police officers behind them when some frantic footsteps and shouts reached their ears.

"Tuylio," cried someone, a young man. At this, Tulio turned to the young man at the mention of his name.

"What is it, Fernando?" he asked. Fernando screeched to a halt with two other young men behind him. As he caught his breath, he managed to get the words out.

"There's a Spix macaw that needs your help," Fernando cried urgently.

"Blu?" asked Linda.

"No, it's one of the wild ones," said Fernando, "And it's been seriously injured."

At this, Tulio, Linda, Lucy, Jack and Jill looked at each other. Then Tulio made his choice.

"Take me to my helicopter as fast as you can," he commanded Fernando. Frnando nodded and he and his two companions rushed off. Tulio's group then followed but not before Tulio told the chief of Manaus security about the situation and to continue to keep an eye on the poachers. The chief nodded and with that, Tulio hurried off. Back at Tulio's helicopter, Blu, Jewel, Zephyr, Chiquitita, Orquidea, Esmeralda, Ultramarine, Lapis Lazuli, Travis and Cobalto, together with all the chicks apart from Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette who were in the helicopter with their parents and Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto who were still out in the jungle with Ruby frantically entered the medical facility of the copter. As they did that, Veggie stood by when he heard the sounds of greyhound and cat paws patting the ground. At this, he looked up and saw four greyhounds and three cats, three of his offspring, run towards him with Cometa close behind. When Thomas, Collette and Daisy saw Veggie, they cried out, "Dad!"

And with that, they rushed over to him and hugged him. Dash, Avellana, James and Danny also hugged Veggie. Ginger and Eduarda then came out of the cargo bay where they had been hiding all along and hugged Dash and the other three greyhounds. After the mammals had broken their hug, Dash looked at Veggie with demanding eyes.

"What's happened?" he asked.

"We heard and saw you lot in a rush," said Ginger.

"Where are Mom and the others?" asked Collette. Cometa landed next to Dash. Veggie then gave the group a sombre look.

"Catina has been badly wounded by Nigel," he murmured. At this, horror tore through Dash's group and Cometa flinched.

"How bad is it?" asked the falcon. Dash and the others also looked at Veggie with the same question. Veggie daren't tell them the details but he decided to give them a short answer.

"Catina has lost a lot of blood. That is why we were in such a rush," he murmured, his ears drooping and his eyes beginning to ooze tears. "Nigel had completely lost his mind and in his insanity, he violently attacked us. He almost went for Blu, Venus and their families but Catina pushed them out of the way, resulting in her getting brutally clawed instead. Furthermore…"

Just then, the macaws and their chicks including Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago, came out of the helicopter after handing Catina over for treatment. They had just shared a brief reunion with Mercury, Sapphire and their chicks and had come out to see Dash and the others. When Dash saw the macaws and that half of the adults were missing, he asked, "Hey, where are Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto, Ruby and Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto?"

As Dash asked the macaws this question, Brisa, Roberto, Gael, Nuvem and Viento flew in but then the sound of human footsteps on the ground reached the group's ears. At this, Cometa looked up and gasped.

"Someone's in a rush, everyone," she said, "Move out of the way, quickly!"

At this, the group did so as the owners of the sounds, Tulio and some of the other humans, hurried towards the helicopter and climbed aboard it. In Tulio's arms was a bundle wrapped in towels but none of the mammals got a glimpse of what was in it. As the group of humans boarded the copter, the five new Spix macaws touched down beside the group next to Zephyr, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda, Virgil, and . The seven shared a reunion hug when Gael noticed that someone was missing.

"Where's Venus?" she asked her son. Zephyr gave her and the other four with her a sombre look but then they were distracted by the commotion from inside the copter. In the copter, Tulio, Linda, Lucy, Fernando, Jack and Jill were in a frantic rush. The bundle was Tornado, the macaw that had been brutally wounded by Cazador during the fight. Tulio placed the macaw onto a sterile table.

"Fernando, can you get me a clean towel please?" he commanded. Fernando obeyed and fetched one while Tulio removed the old towel which was covered in blood and tossed it into a special bin. Linda then came in with a stethoscope to check Tornado's heartrate while Fernando applied the fresh towel to the wound on his torso. Tornado's weakening eyes darted about the medical facility but Fernando offered him comforting words.

"Don't worry, birdie, everything's gonna be alright," he said, petting Tornado on the cheek. While Tulio's group ran about to try and slow the loss of blood coming from Tornado's injury, another team was seeing to Catina and a few injured macaws. While the humans did this, Dash and the others including Cometa, Ginger and Eduarda peered in. Brisa, Zephyr, Gael, Nuvem and Viento looked on in hope. After Tornado had been taken out of the battlefield, he had been under the care of some Spix macaw tribe nurses until Tulio and his team had become available but they had been attacked by three crows who had tried to cage them towards the final moments of the poacher and macaw fight. The tribe nurses had managed to drive the crows away but one had inflicted damage on top of Cazador's scratch on Tornado's body, and the tribe nurses had been struggling to control the blood loss, eventually turning to Tulio and his team for help by handing him to Fernando to take to Tulio. Fernando continued holding the towel to Tornado's torso until it became so covered in blood that it had to be thrown away and replaced with a fresh one. Fernando did just that while Linda continued listening to Tornado's heartbeat through the microphone part of the stethoscope. Tornado continued examining what was happening around him, his strength fading away as more blood was lost. Fernando continued comforting him as Tulio came in to try and help control the blood loss, but he could tell that the Spix macaw was weakening.

"Is he okay, Dad?" asked Fernando. Tulio told him to hold the towel firmly over the wound.

"He's lost a lot of blood," said Tulio, "Just apply pressure over the wound. Hopefully we'll be able to save him and get his wound treated…"

As he said this, the macaws, cats, dogs and Cometa continued watching. Sapphire, who had recovered from her strangulation at the clutches of Nigel, also looked on with Mercury at her side. Outside the helicopter, rain continued hammering down and winds gusted. Zephyr, Brisa and Gael continued to watch as Tulio and the others continued trying to save Tornado from dying but despite their best efforts, Tornado's strength continued to slip away, and his movements continued to weaken. Linda continued listening to his heartbeat through the stethoscope while Fernando continued trying to control the blood loss. A few more seconds passed and Tornado's movements slowed more and more until finally, they stopped and the Spix macaw became still. Linda, who continued listening to his heartbeat, heard the macaw's heart's beat get weaker and weaker until finally, she could no longer hear it. At this, her face fell. Tulio and Fernando looked at her while Lucy, Jack and Jill looked on.

"That's it?" Tulio asked. Linda, at this, only replied with, "I'm sorry, Tulio."

At this, Tulio looked down at Tornado's lifeless body. Fernando and Linda also backed away. Tears began to well in their eyes as thunder sounded outside. Then Tulio, overcome with grief, retreated to a corner and began to sob. Linda and Fernando came over to him and comforted him. Outside, Dash, who had been watching Tornado, then shot the others, especially Zephyr and his six chicks, Brisa, Gael and Viento and Nuvem, a sombre look.

"Could they save him?" asked Zephyr. Dash, at this, sadly shook his head.

"The blood loss was too much from them to control," he murmured. At this, Zephyr, together with his family and chicks, felt tears well up in their eyes until they finally broke down. Roberto, Blu, Jewel and the others all came around them and hugged them while Veggie, Collette, Daisy, Thomas, Dash, Ginger, Eduarda, Avellana, James and Danny and Cometa looked on with sad and sympathetic eyes as they continued to listen to Tulio's sobs from within the copter. It was clear that Tulio hated seeing a macaw, particularly one of a rare species, die despite his best efforts. It always broke his heart. Then Orquidea turned to Veggie to ask him an important question.

"By the way, you were gonna tell us where the missing ones are?" she asked.

"Oh, yes, I was," said Veggie. At this, all ears turned to him as Veggie began to explain the rest that had happened during their final confrontation with Nigel.

 **Meanwhile**

The rain continued pelting down and the wind gusted through the trees. Branches and leaves wavered in the gusts and thunder sounded in the sky. Most of the animals had retreated to any shelter they could find to escape the downpour. However, one group of macaws was still flying in the rain desperately searching for a lost friend in the rushing stream. Venus, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto and Ruby who had Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto in her talons continued searching for Jupiter in the stream, trying as much as possible to keep out of the rain for macaws could not fly well with sodden feathers, but the wind was proving to be a challenge. The group had divided into two subgroups when they had come to the bifurcation in the stream. Venus, Mars, Saturn and Ceres went up one split in the stream while Neptune, Pluto, Uranus, Ruby and her chicks followed the other split. A little while later, Venus, Mars, Saturn and Ceres were well past the bifurcation, continuously searching for Jupiter. Venus hovered over a shallow part of the stream by the bank, flapping like mad to regain her balance as a gust of wind almost blew over off balance and she shook her head to shake rainwater from her head feathers and pigtails before resuming her search.

"Jupiter!" cried Venus as she scanned the shallow patch for any flash of vermillion, sulfur yellow or turquoise, "Jupiter!"

Mars, Saturn and Ceres searched the other side of the river, calling Jupiter's name and scanning the surface of the water. Ceres was becoming more and more aware of how risky this search was becoming due to the weather.

"He's got to be somewhere," she muttered, "We can't continue searching like this in this downpour."

Mars yelped in shock as a sudden gust of wind blew him towards a tree trunk. He halted in time before he could crash into it. Glancing briefly at the column of brown wood, Mars flew on. Then Saturn had an idea.

"Do you think we should find one of the macaw tribes or clans to help us in our search?" he asked the other three. Venus, Mars and Ceres looked around for any flash of colour in the trees.

"In this weather, they might not want to," said Ceres, "As far as we can see, there aren't any animals in the trees anyway because of this downpour."

"Then we'll have to keep searching ourselves," said Saturn, "If we see any macaw fly past, we'll tell them to keep an eye out for a muscular scarlet macaw with vermillion feathers."

Mars, Venus and Ceres agreed to this and the four resumed their search for Jupiter, flying further and further downstream. Then another good while later the four were further downstream, continuously scanning the surface of the rushing water for any sign of Jupiter. But their hope that he was alive was soon beginning to fade, and it was beginning to show on the four macaws' faces. Saturn felt dread prick at him like a sharp thorn as he realised that this search was becoming more and more futile. Venus, Mars and Ceres were also becoming more and more flooded with despair. If Jupiter had indeed drowned and carried away by the current, Ruby and his chick's hearts will be torn in two. As this thought bubbled within the four, especially Venus, they felt disgust boil. Causing immense heartbreak for the mate and offspring of the victim was what Nigel had in mind and he intended to inflict this on Venus and Mercury by killing Zephyr and Sapphire, but it seemed that he also had that in mind to devastate the other families as well and he seemed to have succeeded in doing just that with Ruby's family, even though it was unexpected. Crashing into Jupiter hadn't been in Nigel's mind. He was aiming for Ruby and the chicks and was intending to devastate Jupiter by killing his family, but his mind had been too warped with fury and the desire for revenge to even care. As the four macaws thought about this, the sound of flapping wings reached their ears. They had reached a part of the forest where the canopy above was thicker and thus less rain and wind was felt. At this, Saturn, Venus, Mars and Ceres slowed to a hover to listen to the wingbeats. However, there wasn't just one wingbeat, but several.

"What's that flapping noise?" asked Venus.

"Sounds like a group of birds nearby," said Mars.

"In the rain and wind?" asked Saturn with a perplexed frown. Ceres, however felt hope prick at her.

"If those wing flaps are of some macaws," she said, "Maybe they will be able to help."

"Alright," said Saturn, "Let's wait here until they turn up."

And with that, the male blue-and-gold macaw, female Spix macaw, male green-winged macaw and female blue-throated macaw retreated to a patch of ferns to wait for the wing flaps' owners to come into view. The sounds of the wing flaps continued to increase as the owners got nearer. Saturn began to trace the noise to the source as it continued approaching while Venus, Mars and Ceres took the opportunity to rest.

"What a day it's been," muttered Mars as he shook his head to rid the raindrops collected in his feathers.

"I couldn't agree more to that," muttered Ceres in agreement, "But seeing Nigel finally lose his mind had been the most terrifying thing we have had to face." She then leaned back against the tree trunk. "I'm gonna have nightmares for days."

"He was honestly like Brutus," said Venus. She shuddered as she remembered those burning brown eyes saturated with the hunger for revenge, particularly on Blu and his family, and the hunger for seeing her and Mercury break down at the deaths of their mates, and when things didn't go his own way, Nigel seemed to have become more and more like Brutus which was why he brutally attacked Esperanza, one of Dash and Ginger's puppies back at the clearing where the poachers had landed. Venus had hoped that Nigel would have learned his lesson after she and the others apart from Mercury and his family had confronted and attacked him though she did think that Jewel went totally over-the-top with her attacks on the cockatoo, especially when she mocked his injuries. As vile as Nigel was, Venus would not take clawing and scratching him that far, but she could not believe that he had refused to learn his lesson, and what he had done to Jupiter could leave Ruby and her chicks, especially her chicks Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, scarred for a long time to come, and that reminded her of how she and Mercury were scarred by Nigel when he had killed their families. As these thoughts bubbled within Venus's mind, Saturn suddenly whipped round and raised a wing feather to his beak. His dark aqua blue and yellow plumage was bristled and his beige eyes wide with alarm.

"What is it?" asked Mars,

"SHHH!" hissed Saturn more dramatically. His head then turned and looked out. Wondering what could made Saturn so alarmed, Venus, Mars and Ceres crept slowly out of the patch of ferns and followed his gaze, thunder sounding in the sky and rain continuing to pour down from the sky. The sounds of the flapping wings had stopped and now the owners were perched in one of the trees near the four macaws, but when Venus, Mars and Ceres's eyes landed on them, their hearts, especially Venus's, leaped into their throats. The creatures that had been the sources of the flapping wings did not have feathers, beaks or talons. Instead, the bodies of the creatures were covered in fur, like the macaws' cat and greyhound friends. Their wings were not made of feathers, but of membranous skin stretched over four highly elongated digits and their feet were clawed toes. The creatures also had ears, a conical snout and mouths instead of beaks. Saturn immediately recognised the creatures. _Bats._ There were four of those bats sitting in the lowest branches of the tree and Saturn could see that the head features of all four of them resembled an English dog-like creature with reddish fur and a bushy tail he and the other three had seen several times in the countryside of England when Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake sometimes took them out on trips to the country. As recognition of these creatures crept in, Saturn shuddered. Mars and Ceres also gulped but Venus was the most on edge. As her amber eyes gazed at the four creatures, she heard maniacal laughs, felt her back get scratched and saw scornful eyes and mouths, and also sharpened sticks with a cluster of feathers attached to one end. Venus felt her stomach churn in terror. She wanted to flee but could not for her frantic flapping could alert the four creatures. Then Mars spoke.

"Are they…?" he whispered.

"Flying foxes," whispered Saturn, finishing his sentence. As these two words uttered from his beak, Venus shuddered all the more, her maya blue feathers bristling, and she struggled to control her frantic breathing. Indeed these membrane winged furry creatures were flying foxes, and they were massive. They would easily stand taller than Venus, Mars and Ceres and possibly Saturn as well but their wingspans would be up to a metre and a half on average. Saturn then looked closer at the four flying foxes as they conversed on the branch and shuddered as he saw scars slash through the pelages on their faces and bodies. He had heard of how the flying foxes had an extremely bitter hatred of all birds of the Amazon and that they saw them as vermin, and how a lot of them have been in vicious fights with birds to earn a lot of scars. Saturn then felt a flash of anger as he continued gazing at the flying foxes as he remembered another fact about them.

"Those bats are renowned for violently driving out bird tribes and clans in order to grab their territory," he whispered. He then imagined what the red-fronted macaw clan must have faced when they faced such a siege a few days before the most recent fire. Then another horrible thought came to Saturn's mind, but it was one that sent shivers down his spine.

"What is it?" asked Venus.

"Is it those bats?" asked Mars. Saturn then shot them a dreaded look. At this, Venus, Mars and Ceres all knew what Saturn was about to say before he even said it.

"I think we may have strayed into…" murmured the blue-and-gold macaw but he daren't say the last three words. Then suddenly, the sounds of flapping membranous wings, four pairs of them, reached the ears of the four macaws. Saturn, at this, turned and saw the four flying foxes leave. Once they were out of sight, he turned to the other three.

"Let's get out of here before any of those bats see us," he said.

"But what about…?" began Venus.

"I'm not risking our lives, Venus," snapped Saturn slightly harshly and quietly, "Let's leave this place, now!"

Venus, Mars and Ceres, at this, obeyed without hesitation based on the harshness of Saturn's voice. Then soon, the four macaws took off and began to fly back the way they had come, following the stream and against its direction of flow. They made haste for they were despite to get back to the safety of macaw territory. On the way, Saturn made sure that any feathers shed by himself or the other three macaws were collected to remove any evidence of their accidental presence.


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35- the aftermath part 2**

Meanwhile, Pluto, Uranus, Neptune, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, who had been searching the flowing waters of the other split of the stream, had enlisted the help of some of Alonso and Valentino's tribe members to help them look for a lost scarlet macaw that had fallen into the stream. Felipe, Reynaldo and Demetrio had offered to send out some patrollers too to help when he had heard the horrifying news and soon, patrol groups from the red, the green and the Lear's macaw tribes and the Bluewing Clan had been sent out but soon they were joined by patrol groups from Eduardo, Rudi and Soleado's tribes and Flavio's clan. The macaw they were looking for was a large muscular male with vermillion feathers, brown eyes, teal wings and a flat sheet of feathers at the back of his head. This done, Pluto, Uranus, Neptune, Ruby and her four chicks had made their way back to Tulio's helicopter. Saturn, Venus, Mars and Ceres had also abandoned their search for Jupiter, especially after accidentally wandering into flying fox territory, and had managed to make it back to macaw territory without getting spotted. Saturn had also collected any moulted feathers to get rid of any evidence of his and the other three's presence. If Cicatriz ever found out that birds had been on his and his colony's turf, even my accident, he would want blood and Saturn did not want to risk accidentally provoking a war between the macaws and other birds and their worst enemies and had hoped that none of the flying foxes had noticed. One of the divisions in the stream actually ran into the territory of the flying foxes which was why Saturn, Venus, Mars and Ceres had accidentally wandered here. After this close call, the four macaws had learned their lesson to be more careful next time and to make sure that they did not do it again in future. They got away unscathed without touching the delicate truce between Cicatriz's colony and their tribes not to trespass in each other's land but if it were to happen again, they might not be so lucky. Frightened by their brush with death, Saturn, Venus, Mars and Ceres hastily returned to Tulio's helicopter.

 **Later**

The atmosphere hanging over Dash, Veggie and the others was as miserable as the weather. The animals had retreated into the cargo bay to stay out of the rain. Mercury and Sapphire lay side by side, the former who had a bandage around his belly to cover the scratch, and Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette were snuggled up to them. Travis, Eustace, Milo and Rosa also snuggled up to Sunset, tears falling from their eyes after seeing Tornado die. Tornado's body had been taken away by some of the Spix macaw tribe nurses for burial, and Esperanza lay in one corner, her body covered in bandages. Catina was on a mini-respirator, her serious injury covered by a bandage. Outside, in the cargo bay, the others huddled against one another, trying to keep out of the rain. Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago were snuggled close together, Zephyr, with his wings around Justin, Charlotte, Matilda, Virgil, and , snuggled up to his mother Gael, sister Brisa, cousin Nuvem, uncle Viento and friend Roberto. They were all huddled together, despondent over the loss of Tornado. Next to them, Chiquitita was resting with her wings wrapped around Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre. Orquidea, Esmeralda, Ultramarine, Cobalto and Lapis Lazuli also lay along the back of the cargo bay, resting with their chicks too. Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus were snuggled up to their mother as were Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon with Esmeralda. Ultramarine was cradling the sleeping and exhausted Triton and Indigo while Cobalto looked over the sleeping Wilbur, Aurelio and Azul as they slept in some cloth shaped into a nest, and Lapis Lazuli cradled Charon, Blueberry, Flor and Quincy as they wept and cried over the shocking events that had occurred in the past few days. The adult macaws themselves were worried for their respective mates, and for Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto as well, and of course Jupiter. At the front of the cargo bay at the entrance, Dash, Ginger, Avellana, Eduarda, James, Danny and Veggie, Collette, Daisy and Thomas lay close together, eyes either gazing into the sky or staring into space, and Cometa stood propped against one side of the entrance, staring into the grey thunderous sky, her mind turning with all that had happened. Occasionally, her large eyes darted to the cats, dogs and macaws, and each time they landed on them, she felt a wave of sympathy. They had been through such a horrific ordeal, being taken by surprise by her now-former group in their own home, terrorised by Nigel, and almost even killed by the deranged cockatoo when his obsession with getting revenge on Blu and Jewel reached critical. Cometa was especially concerned for the chicks. They will likely be traumatised for a while to come but Cometa had hoped that they would recover. It had been a frightening ordeal for the lot of them. Sighing, Cometa returned to gazing out into space.

The death of Tornado and what had happened to Jupiter at Nigel's clutches had been a double-whammy for the group, and there were also worries thrown into the mix of negative emotions in the atmosphere too. Catina's critical condition was worrying Veggie, Collette, Daisy and Thomas and they feared how Broccoli back in Rio would react when they told him what had happened to his mother, but the three former kittens were also worried about Jupiter. When Veggie had told Cometa, Dash, Ginger, Avellana, Eduarda, James, Danny, Collette, Daisy, Thomas, and Roberto, Brisa, Gael, Nuvem and Viento and also Sunset, Mercury, Sapphire, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette and Esperanza who were resting in the medical facility of the copter about how Nigel had finally lost his mind and tried to savagely attack the group, ending with him bowling off the bank into a flowing stream with Jupiter, they had all been devastated and had hoped that he was found alive and well, especially since almost half of the adult macaws and four of the chicks were missing for they had gone out to search for Jupiter. There was deathly silence hanging over the group, with only the sounds of thunder and the pattering of rain on the ground and the copter disturbing it. Finally, Danny spoke.

"I sure hope that Venus and the others are alright out there," he said, "They should have found Jupiter by now."

"I hope so too," said Dash. Then Roberto looked up at the greyhounds.

"Do you think it would be a good idea if I returned to the Spix macaw tribe and have Eduardo, our patriarch organise patrols to help find Jupiter?" he asked. The greyhounds and the cats shot him a frowned look each.

"Do you mean you want to fly out into this downpour back to your flock?" asked Ginger in disagreement, "Absolutely not."

"You'd seriously get wet and possibly catch a chill," said Collette.

"And besides that, you wouldn't be able to fly very well if your feathers get wet," said Dash. Roberto sighed and looked back ahead, a sombre look on his face. Ginger's eyes then travelled to Zephyr's family as they remained huddled together, tears pouring from their eyes.

"I can't believe that the battle with the poachers has led to a few fatalities," the ginger coloured greyhound murmured. Roberto looked at them.

"It's gonna be a sad time for our tribe, Ginger," he said sombrely, "Tornado was one of the dearest friends of so many of us, especially Eduardo, and he's been such an excellent father to Zephyr and Brisa, mate to Gael, brother to Viento, uncle to Nuvem and grandfather to Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil, as well as a good father-in-law to Venus."

When Roberto mentioned Venus, a thought entered Ginger's head. How was Venus going to react when she finds out what had happened to her father-in-law when she returned. As she thought this over, the sounds of frantic wing flaps reached the group's ears. At this, Cometa said, "I think your friends have returned."

At this, Dash, Ginger, Roberto and the others looked up and saw some feathered forms, nine of them, come flying towards the helicopter like rockets, desperate to get out of the rain before their feathers became too wet to fly. As Venus, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto, and Ruby who had Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto in her talons approached the cargo bay and landed one by one between Cometa and the cats who moved out of the way to make room for them, all eyes converged onto them as they shook their feathers to get rid of the rainwater that had collected in their feathers. Zephyr, Chiquitita, Orquidea, Esmeralda, Ultramarine, Cobalto and Lapis Lazuli went over to their respective mates and hugged them. After the reunion moment, Veggie looked at them.

"Any luck?" he asked. However, from the sombre looks on their faces, especially Ruby's, they all knew it meant one thing. Then Ruby handed the now sleeping Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto to Chiquitita and she took them away to place next to Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre and then sat down to have a cry. Then Venus saw the saddened looks on her family's faces.

"Has something happened?" she asked. Zephyr and Brisa, however, were too despondent to tell Venus so Blu walked in and did it for them.

"Your father-in-law's passed away," he said. When Venus heard this, a sharp but horrified gasp was sucked into her beak and then her eyes began to well with tears.

"Tulio and his team tried their best to save him but the blood loss was too great," explained Blu, "When our tribe nurses had kept him out of the battle after he had been injured by Cazador, some crows attacked and they further damaged his wound. As such, it was too late for our human friends to save him. I'm sorry Venus."

At this, her wings went to Venus's beak and more tears streamed down her face. Then she walked over to Zephyr to hug him, one or two sobs escaping her throat. As Venus began to sob and was joined by her in-law family, Blu looked on in sympathy as Jewel went over to comfort Ruby over her loss of Jupiter. Then Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Roberto came in.

"What else have you to report apart from your failure to find Jupiter, you three?" asked Blu.

"Well, we've told Valentino and Alonso everything that had happened to Jupiter and have asked them to help us search for him," explained Uranus, "Also, Felipe, Demetrio and Reynaldo have offered to help. They're currently sending out patrols to search the Sanctuary de Amazon now so…"

"Oh, that's good, Uranus," said Roberto, "At least that job's out of the way. Eduardo, Soleado, Flavio and Rudi will likely send some patrols from their tribes out as well when they hear about what had happened to Jupiter."

Uranus breathed a sigh of relief. The idea of enlisting the help of the macaw tribes and clans to help find Jupiter has brought some hope for the group. Then Roberto saw that Saturn was trembling slightly. His feathers were on end and he looked very pale under the aqua blue and rich yellow feathers.

"Why are you trembling like a leaf?" asked Roberto. Saturn shot him a look.

"I'm just cold," he said but Blu could tell there was more to his shakes than just the cold weather.

"You look as though you've seen a monstrous harpy eagle," he said, "Are you alright?"

Uranus and Neptune also flashed a concerned look at Saturn. The same look was also plastered on Venus, Mars and Ceres's faces and they looked fidgety. Saturn finally decided to admit why he was feeling like jelly.

"You're not gonna like this," he murmured, "But while we were searching for Jupiter, the stream bifurcated and I, Venus, Mars and Ceres opted to search down one branch while the others left to search the other branch. However, the branch that we were following happened to lead straight into flying fox territory…"

The moment those three dreaded words left his beak, utter horror and astonishment splashed over Roberto, Blu, Uranus and Neptune. The other macaws also gawked at Saturn and then at Mars, Venus and Ceres and silence fell on the group but Saturn continued before any of them asked.

"But we managed to fly back as quickly as we could before we were spotted. I made sure that any feathers shed by us were not left behind or else Cicatriz's bats would discover that we had been in their side…"

"I should think so and all!" said Blu harshly, "You honestly could have been killed…"

"If any of those bats ever saw you in their territory, even if you strayed there by accident, you're dead on the spot," said Roberto. His expression then softened. "But at least you've managed to escape without being seen."

Saturn breathed a sigh of relief and flopped down. He just could not believe that he had accidentally strayed into Cicatriz's side with Venus, Mars and Ceres but then a horrible thought crossed his mind, but it was a thought that he didn't like one bit at all. What if Jupiter had been carried down that branch… into flying fox territory!? Saturn daren't think of what would happen if poor Jupiter were found by a group of flying foxes over there, and seeing that Ruby was already heartbroken enough as it is as she continued sobbing her heart out in Jewel's wings, he didn't want to tell her.

 **Meanwhile**

Jupiter broke the surface of the rushing water, trying to gasp for air or look for a vine that dangled from the branches above the stream to grab hold of. He had no idea how far he had been carried downstream from the point where he and Nigel had fallen into the river, nor did he have any idea of where Nigel was but he didn't care about that anymore. His top priority was getting to shore. However, after so much struggling in the stream and fighting the turbulence and the current of the water, exhaustion was beginning to set in. Jupiter then became desperate. His talons scrabbled on the floor of the stream, whipping up silt into a brown cloud for he had drifted into a shallower part of the stream. Jupiter struggled to search for some sort of lifeline to grasp until finally, he felt something tough under the water. The moment his talons touched the thing, which was an underwater root, Jupiter hooked his claws onto it and began to try and drag himself ashore. However, it was not easy for the current was quite strong. With the water flowing turbulently around him, the desperate macaw began to expend every last drop of his strength in dragging himself ashore despite not having much left. Bit by bit, Jupiter moved closer and closer to the bank as his talons pulled along the root like a rope until finally, his talons rose out of the water as the root ran from under the stream and onto the shore, and towards a tree nearby. Seeing that it was now or ever, Jupiter gave a few more final mighty pulls until he was at last on the edge of the bank and out of the area of the stream where the current was strongest. Rain poured into his face and body as Jupiter continued to drag himself along the root with his talons. As soon as he was finally and completely on the bank, Jupiter rolled onto his front and began to gasp for air and caught the water out of his lungs. His vermillion, yellow and teal feathers were absolutely sodden wet and caked in brown mud and silt and he was shivering, having been exposed to the water's colder temperature for so long. After coughing the remaining drops of water from his lungs, Jupiter began to struggle to stand up. His wings and talons shook as they took the weight of his body but because his strength was mostly gone, Jupiter collapsed back into the wet mud as his wings gave out. He then entered another bout of gasping as he lay on his front, his sodden wings sprawled out with the feathers of one of them dipping into the water. Then finally, exhaustion began to take its toll on his whole body and Jupiter began to pass out. His vision became enveloped in blackness, first from the periphery and then towards the centre. However, before he passed out completely, Jupiter thought he heard the sounds of flapping wings through the pattering of rain and the rumble of thunder but did not have time to deduce the flapping wings' owners and he tumbled into the blackness of unconsciousness.

As Jupiter lay still on the river's banks, his chest still moving as he continued to breathe, the sounds of flapping wings grew louder until finally, the owners of the flapping wings came into view. However, the owners weren't feathered and did not have beaks or talons. Instead, they had fur, membranous wings supported by four very long digits, and their faces were similar to a husky dog. The group of three furred creatures, which were flying foxes like the ones Saturn, Venus, Ceres and Mars had seen earlier, were chatting while flying through the rain, keeping to the canopy to avoid getting their membranous wings and fur wet. Two of the flying foxes in this trio were female, one of which was white and the other chocolate brown with a white patch on her front and the other was male with reddish fur and they appeared to be on an outing. They looked different, however, to the four Saturn and the other three had seen. Their pelages were not slashed with gashes of scar tissue, though the chocolate brown female did have a small scar on her face, just above her left eye. The white female appeared to be an albino for the sclera of her eyes had a reddish tint.

"I really hope Cicatriz isn't planning on driving out any more bird tribes or clans anytime soon, you two," said the white female to her companions, "You know it's a seriously dangerous business dealing with flocks of flying creatures armed with lethal talons and beaks."

"I know, Lily," said the chocolate brown and white female, "I think this whole thing that the birds of the Amazon are vermin is just ridiculous. When I have pups of my own, I am not gonna have them attend those horrible bird-fighting classes."

"Exactly," said the reddish male, "It's just utterly pointless. And I'm sure Augustus and Melissa couldn't agree more to that at all."

"My cousin Melissa actually finds the idea of fighting birds nauseating and when she and Augustus have pups of their own, they aren't gonna have them attend those classes either," said the white bat named Lily, "Anyway, let's continue to our secret destination and meet our secret feathered friends and get out of this rain before our wing membranes and fur become too wet, and I absolutely hate being cold and wet."

The three then continued their journey when the reddish male saw something brightly coloured and feathered lying on the bank of the stream.

"Lily, Ana, LOOK!" he shouted, pointing to Jupiter's limp body. At this, the trio stopped.

"What is it, Marcus?" asked the chocolate brown and white female bat named Ana but when her and Lily's eyes landed on Jupiter's limp body, they both drew in a sharp gasp.

"Is that one of those scarlet macaws?" asked Marcus. Lily and Ana squinted at the bird lying on his front by the stream.

"It is," said Ana, "And it looks like it had been taking a trip down that stream based on its wet feathers."

"Or had wandered here by accident in the rain," said Lily, "I know some birds do stray into our territory accidentally and end up killed by many of our colony-mates."

She then snapped to the scarlet macaw and said, "Which would mean we will have to carry that scarlet macaw to a safe place before any of our colony-mates find it and kill it."

"Would our secret hiding place do?" asked Marcus, "None of the other colony members know where that is."

"That is a good idea, Marcus," said Lily, "Well thought. Come on; let's get to moving that scarlet macaw to there."

And with that, the three bats descended towards the unconscious Jupiter and landed around him. Lily put a wing thumb to Jupiter's neck to feel his pulse while Ana checked his breathing and what gender the macaw was by examining his features such as his eyes.

"It's a male scarlet," said Ana, "And I think he's unconscious but alive."

"Indeed he is," said Lily when she felt a pulse, "Let's get him out of here."

And with that, she and her two companions took hold of Jupiter's wings and tail with their feet and began to try and carry him. However, it was a struggle.

"Unnngh, has this macaw gained weight?" grunted Lily as she struggled with Jupiter's weight.

"It's not body fat that's making him so heavy," said Marcus as he examined Jupiter's build, "It's his muscle!"

"No wonder he's so heavy," muttered Ana. Then the three flying foxes flew away with Jupiter in their feet through the trees, avoiding the rain as much as possible.

 **Later**

Valentino and Alonso continued to send patrol groups from their tribes out into the Sanctuary de Amazon to search for Jupiter. Reynaldo, Demetrio and Felipe did the same and soon, Eduardo, Soleado, Rudi and Flavio were sending patrol groups out into the territory to search for Jupiter after hearing from some of the red and Bluewing hyacinth macaw patrollers about Jupiter's disappearance. Soon, patrol groups from all the macaw tribes and clans were on the search for Jupiter, with some of the non-tribe and clan resident birds such as Falkor the milicinth macaw, Ámbar the lutino blue-and-gold macaw and Fedor the hoatzin helping out. All the patrollers and helpers had been given a description of Jupiter: a well-built muscular male scarlet macaw with vermillion feathers, teal coloured wing flight feathers and tail, flat sheet of head feathers behind his head and brown eyes. These features should make Jupiter unmissable. While the patrol groups and their helpers searched for Jupiter in the Sanctuary de Amazon, Lysandre and his group had finally all been loaded onto the helicopters by the security group. As soon as this was done, the security group took off and returned to Manaus with the poachers and their pets in tow. The humans will be turned in to the authorities while the crows and the falcons will be imported to Europe to be released into a nature reserve there. As for the cats, they were sent to an animal hospital to be treated for their injuries and rehomed.

And Tulio and company, they had returned to Rio with all the animals including Cometa and Blu's group in tow while the rain was lighter. However, some of them had chosen to stay behind. Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto and Venus, Zephyr, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda, Virgil, and had returned to Eduardo and Felipe's tribes with Roberto, Brisa, Gael, Nuvem and Viento to grieve the losses of Jupiter and Tornado and Eduardo's sister Mimi had organised a funeral to honour Tornado and his life. Hours later, it was now dusk and everyone but Ruby and Venus and their families excluding Jupiter were back in Susan and Lucy's house. Dash, Ginger, Veggie, Thomas, Collette, Daisy, Eduarda, Avellana, James and Danny were glad to be back in Rio again, and Esperanza and Catina had been taken to the vet's place to be treated. The remaining macaws and Travis and his family were back in Susan and Lucy's attic and as for the mess left by Nigel, Otis and Lysandre's pets as they raided and ransacked the place before the trip into the Amazon, Tulio had hired repairmen to come and fix the damage. Things were beginning to look up for the group but for some of them, the sombre atmosphere remained hanging over them, especially for the macaws.

The living room and kitchen were alive with the sounds of hammering, cleaning, talking and the sounds of music and the TV. Workmen were scattered throughout the conjoined rooms, fixing the broken cupboards and bringing in new furniture to replace the other ones that looked as though a beast had gone on a rampage with them. Susan and Lucy were up to their usual business including Bible study, checking on their pet cats and dogs, and also speaking to potential customers of Dash, Ginger, Veggie and Catina's first brood offspring. In the hallway on their beds, the greyhounds and cats except Esperanza and Catina were relaxing or playing. They were covered in plasters and a few bandages apart from Ginger who had not participated much in the fight. Because of this wise decision not to get involved too much with the battle against the poachers, her and Dash's second litter of puppies were safe and unharmed, which she and the others were glad for. As Ginger relaxed reading a book, Broccoli, who had been allowed to return home, came by. His front left leg was still in a cast and will be for another two weeks. He smiled at Ginger.

"Hey, Ginger," he said, "Your second litter is due soon, isn't it?"

"In a few weeks, Broccoli," said Ginger with a smile. Broccoli then sat down beside her. Shortly after he had been returned home from the vet's, Dash and the others had told him everything that had happened in the Sanctuary de Amazon, including the great fight against the poachers, and how Nigel had eventually lost his mind completely, leading him to almost kill so many victims, such as brutally clawing Esperanza, strangling Sapphire into unconsciousness, and how he had brutally slashed Catina down the side when she bravely substituted Blu, Venus and their families by pushing them out of the way. Veggie had also told Broccoli about the final confrontation with Nigel including how Jewel had brutally clawed him and broke his wing and during the finale, how he had plunged into a stream, taking Jupiter with him. Dash had also told Broccoli about Cometa, the falcon who was against Lysandre's plans all along and how she had helped the group deal with the poachers, and also the sad fatality of one of Zephyr's relatives which was the reason why he and his family had stayed behind alongside Ruby and her four chicks and that they will not be back for the rest of the summer. Broccoli had been horrified to hear all this but he was glad that the poachers had finally been caught.

"I hope Esperanza and Mom are alright," murmured Broccoli worriedly, "Dad told me how that savage vulture of a cockatoo brutally clawed her down the side when he tried attacking Blu and Venus and their families."

"He was honestly so much like Brutus," said Ginger, "Glad I did not get too involved with the fight otherwise my unborn pups would have been in danger."

Broccoli shot her a relieved and agreeing glance. "When he bit my paw and cracked a bone in it," he murmured, gazing at his paw in the cast, "I guess I only got a small taste of what he was like when he was enraged compared to what the others faced."

"When I heard what Nigel had done to you, I was horrified," said Ginger. She then scanned the surroundings and looked at the others. Danny and Collette were having a game of chess, Avellana was reading an ecology book, James was going through some sort of diagram which Ginger assumed was his plans for a cat-and-dog only club, Danny, Daisy and Thomas were chatting and Eduarda was resting. Dash and Veggie were discussing about the futures of their grown-up offspring. Then Ginger was alerted by the sounds of flapping wings. At this, she and Broccoli looked up and saw Uranus and his family flutter down the stairs and walk over to the group of cats and dogs, seriously sombre looks on their faces.

"Hey, Uranus, Esmeralda, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon," said Broccoli, "How are you and the others?"

At this, Uranus looked at the Veggie lookalike with sorrowful eyes.

"Not good, Broc," he replied, "We're all very sad and despondent over what has happened today. Our chicks are struggling to sleep and we're grieving over the loss of Jupiter."

"Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago are also very sad," said Esmeralda, "Especially over the loss of Tornado."

Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon then huddled together, tears falling from their eyes. They had only met Tornado a few times and had never got the chance to get to know him well, but his death had been a tragedy. Then Ginger remembered something about Cometa.

"Oh, have you guys heard about Cometa lately?" she asked in a slightly perky attitude, hoping to cheer the great green macaw family up. Uranus and his family looked up at her.

"She's been adopted by a falconer who is part of a pest control group in Rio," said Ginger, "She has also become friends with a male peregrine falcon named Lightning."

"Lightning?" repeated Broccoli confused.

"His name is Spanish for 'lightning'," said Ginger, "Which I believe is a fitting name for a falcon that flies so fast."

"At least she has found a better purpose in life, much like how Catina has found a better purpose in becoming a house pet and Veggie's mate," said Uranus in a slightly cheered-up voice but his face soon fell as the sorrow over Jupiter's loss returned.

"It's not going to be an easy time for us, I don't think," murmured Esmeralda as she leaned against Uranus and draped a wing around here five chicks, "In fact, we might even think about returning to the Amazon early."

"What became of Nigel, by the way?" asked Broccoli.

"Well, since he fell into a rushing stream with Jupiter," said Uranus, "I'd assume that he might have died as well. With a broken wing, Nigel's chances of survival are slim."

Suddenly, the door to the living room and kitchen opened. Uranus and his family, at this, snapped their heads toward the door and dived into hiding as Susan and Lucy walked into the hallway and towards the cats and dogs, a smile adorning their faces despite the dramatic events that had happened today. Uranus and his family peered out from under the stairs. Through the door, the sounds of hammers banging and drills buzzing continued as the workmen continued their repair jobs.

"Looks like Lucy and Susan have got some good news," said Esmeralda. Uranus watched as his former owners began to pet the greyhounds and talk.

"Looks like one of Dash and Ginger's adolescent puppies will be getting a new home any time soon, sis," said Lucy as she petted James.

"Yep," said Susan, "The customer is going to come within a month to choose which one she would like to take away."

At this, the great green macaw family's eyes widened in astonishment while Dash and his group let loose excited barks and mews at the news. One of Dash and Ginger's first litter offspring was finally going to be sold to another owner, and Eduarda, James, Danny and Avellana were particularly excited.

"Looks like our furry friends have had some good news," said Uranus.

"Yep," said Esmeralda, "I hope it's the owners of James's Shih Tzu and Persian cat friends since those two are into samba like he is."

Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon looked on with smiles on their beaks as the cats and dogs gazed after Susan and Lucy as they returned to the kitchen and living room through the hallway door.

 **Meanwhile**

In the Sanctuary de Amazon, it was now dark. The rains seemed to have eased off but the night sky was still screened by thick clouds. The daytime macaw patrol groups and their helpers had put off the search for Jupiter to pass on the job to the night-time patrol groups while they went home for the night. In Felipe's tribe's home, a certain female scarlet macaw sat on a branch on the edge of the home patch, a heartbroken and despondent look plastering her face. Ruby had been crying her eyes out for hours since Jupiter's demise and had hoped that the patrol groups will have found Jupiter by now. She stared out into the dark scenery of the red tribe's territory, watching and waiting for any signs of her mate. Because she was so heartbroken, Ruby was unable to take care of Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto and Felipe had put them under the care of Cherie and her boyfriend, Tito until Ruby could overcome her heartbreak, but the four chicks were also despondent over the loss of their dad. Their friends, among them Jessie, Byron, Estelle and Sheldon, had come to offer their condolences to the four chicks, and they would likely need it for quite some time. While Ruby continued gazing out into the darkness, she was made aware of the sound of flapping wings. At this, she turned and saw Pearl, her sister, touch down beside her with a leaf bag full of fruit.

"Hey, sis," said Pearl as she took out a fig and offered it to Ruby, "I've brought you some dinner."

"Oh, I'm fine thanks," said Ruby in a shaky and low voice, tears falling from her eyes, "I'm not very hungry."

"But you haven't eaten anything all afternoon," said Pearl, concerned for her sister's health, "You have to eat something."

But seeing that Ruby did not want anything, Pearl placed the fig back into the leaf bag and placed it into Ruby and Jupiter's hollow. After this, she sat by her sister.

"Look, I know you're upset over Jupiter's loss but our tribe patrollers are trying their best in their search for him," said Pearl firmly, a wing around her sister's back and trying to reassure her, "And Felipe is now sending out the night-time patrol groups as the daytime groups had done their job for the day."

Ruby looked at her as Pearl continued, "Also, don't forget that our neighbours have sent out patrol groups as well to help in the search."

Ruby, at this, began to weep once again as the torrent of emotions resulting from her heartbreak began to flow again.

"But what if he really has died?" she cried in a thick voice, "Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto are gonna grow up without a father, and I'm gonna struggle to bring them up by myself…"

"Look, if they become too much for you," said Pearl as Ruby began to sob, "We'll arrange help for you to raise them until they become old enough to leave the nest. They're under the care of Cherie and Tito for now so don't worry about them."

At this, the pressure of Ruby's emotions finally reached critical and she began to let it all out again through another episode of intensive crying and sobbing. Pearl then pulled her sister into a hug and allowed her to sob into her chest feathers and began to offer her words of comfort, knowing what it felt like to lose a loved one. Some of the nearby scarlet and green-winged macaws gazed at the two sisters and flashed a sympathetic glance at Ruby as she continued to sob aloud.


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36- Jupiter's encounter with a strange group**

 **Later**

Jupiter lay on something soft, like moss. His consciousness was beginning to seep back into him and his vision was beginning to clear. As the world before his eyes began to clarify, starting from blurry shapes that did not make much sense, Jupiter looked up and saw some strange shapes before him. It was as though he was swimming through a dreamy atmosphere. However, he did not feel any raindrops pattering against his face and his feathers felt dryer. Then a voice of one of the shapes echoed in his ears, as though Jupiter were in a large room.

" _The scarlet macaw's coming around, Lily."_

Jupiter, at this, gazed at the blurry shapes with his still-blurred vision. Some of the shapes appeared bird-shaped for they were brightly coloured and had blobs on their head below a pair of smaller white blobs, indicating faces but a few of the other shapes appeared strange and unrecognisable. One of them was white and did not appear to resemble a bird at all. Two other bizarre and unrecognisable forms stood by the white form. One was reddish and the other dark brown with a white splotch on its front. As Jupiter's vision became clearer, he saw that the shapes had two pointed triangles above a pair of what appeared to be eyes. _Ears_. Draping down towards the ground on either side of the bodies of the three creatures like cloaks appeared to be wings but they weren't wings made out of feathers. The brightly coloured forms, however, did have feathered wings and were thus indeed birds. As Jupiter's vision continued to clear such that his vision acuity reached its normal, recognition of the three odd forms' species, and type of animal, pricked at him. Confused groans and murmurs escaped his beak and Jupiter's head felt like lead, as though he had been violently thrown against a rock or tree trunk. He tried to move a wing or a talon but felt a painful surge come from the muscles in his limbs. Jupiter's muscles had eased up, a consequence of their rigorous use during his escape from the stream. His wing muscles were not as painful as his talon and leg muscles but Jupiter felt like he had run a marathon entirely on foot. He winced in pain from his aching muscles and continued to groan tiredly. Then he heard some of the shapes speak but they sounded less echoed than a few minutes before.

"To hear that he has managed to crawl out of that rushing stream in your territory Lily, Marcus and Ana is an absolute shock. He could have drowned in a rushing stream like that."

"We found him on the bank of that stream, Fidel, and we deduced that he might have crawled ashore from it. There's no way he could have flown in the rain into our territory based on his sodden plumage and where he lay."

"We didn't have time to deduce how he ended up in our colony's patch, anyway. We had to get him to safety before any of our colony-mates found him and killed him. You know the majority of our colony. They absolutely DESPISE any bird on their territory and will not hesitate to kill them…"

While the forms continued to talk, Jupiter flinched in fright. _Colony-mates? 'You know the majority of our colony. They absolutely DESPISE any bird on their territory and will not hesitate to kill them'?_

The last sentence made Jupiter's guts turn as a horrible feeling bubbled within him. 'Don't tell me some of these creatures are flying foxes, are they?' he thought. Then Jupiter examined the three forms that had the bizarre, featherless wings and to his horror, he realised that they were. But what was even more surprising was the fact that the other forms were birds. _BIRDS!?_ Jupiter felt utter flabbergast wash over him. 'What is a group of birds doing with some flying foxes!? I thought those flying foxes despised us birds and would kill us on sight,' thought the scarlet macaw. Jupiter was utterly confused and when his eyes, which were able to see clearly by now, examined the feathered forms, he realised that some of them were macaws while a few others were parakeets and some other bird species. However, the macaws Jupiter saw weren't any species of macaw he had heard of or seen. The macaws resembled scarlet macaws but Jupiter noticed that the feathers on their heads faded from red to golden orange or yellow towards the back the fronts of the macaws were a red-orange, similar to the colour of Jupiter's red feathers. The wings of the macaws were various shades of blue but unlike a scarlet macaw which had a yellow band of contours dividing the red from the blue or teal flight feathers, the contours on the wings of these macaws were burgundy and rusty brown. Their tails were red with blue tips and their lower backs were mostly blue. Some of the macaws appeared small, indicating that they were youngsters. Jupiter blinked. These macaws bore a strong resemblance to a certain extinct species of macaw he had seen in a book of birds at Linda's bookstore in Rio. _Cuban red macaws!? But those macaws have gone extinct in Cuba well over a century ago._ The other birds, however, appeared to be more recognisable species. There was a golden conure standing beside the chocolate brown and white flying fox and a few honeycreepers dotted some sort of perch nearby. Jupiter then thought he saw a wall creeping with snake-like structures and realised he was in some sort of shelter. A tree hollow, perhaps. Suddenly, the deLilyus scarlet macaw flinched in alarm as a membranous wing supported by long fingers was extended from the white form.

"Relax, scarlet macaw," said the creature in a soothing female voice, "You've had a close brush with death."

"We actually thought you'd have drowned when we saw you," said the male reddish creature. Still Jupiter refused to calm down. He was trembling violently and very frightened. He had no idea where he was, or who these creatures were.

"He's seriously scared, Lily," said one of the bizarre macaws.

"I'm not surprised, Fidel," said the white creature, "Our colony is very greatly feared by the majority of birds in the Amazon rainforest because of what they have done to so many bird tribes and clans in the past and what they still do now."

This sent another wave of shock coursing through Jupiter. He had been told time and time again about the dangers of the flying foxes and their murderous attitude towards all birds of the Amazon but these three seemed different from what he had been told. Too different in fact, to believe. Overcome with the utter shock of seeing three flying foxes who appeared to be friends with a group of birds and how sympathetic they were, Jupiter's vision began to blacken again. However, he heard a few of the occupants in the room speak as he slipped into the black world of fainting.

" _I don't think he should stay here any longer, Lily, the shock is too much for him. Do you think we should take him back to where he belongs?"_

" _But it's dark out there, Fidel, can't it wait until morning?"_

" _I know, leave it to us golden parakeets. We'll take him back. If his family or his tribe know he's missing, they'll be searching for him…"_

These were the last words Jupiter heard of this mysterious group before he finally slipped into the world of blackness once again as he fainted in shock.

 **A while later**

The darkness of the starless night continued to shroud the rainforest. The eerie sounds of the nocturnal animals continued to fill the air and a few flecks of light from some fireflies danced over some lakes and in the bush like moving stars, flashing on and off. However, the night time patrol groups from the macaw tribes and clans continued their search for Jupiter in the dark rainforest. In one part of the dark jungle, a small mixed group of blue-throated and green macaws searched the border of the Bluewing Clan and blue-throated macaws' territory to the unprotected land outside. Among the group were Franco, one of Cobalto and Ceres's friends and the captain of the blue-throated macaw clan's Pit of Doom team, and Lewin and Luis, the twin brothers and friends of Esmeralda and Uranus and now Waldo, Sapphire and Mercury. The brothers had opted to join the group on the night search after hearing what devastation Ruby and her family had faced after the apparent demise of Jupiter. As the group of macaws searched along the border of the Blue-throated and Bluewing clans' territory, the leader, an aged male hyacinth named Leonel indicated by streaks of silver strewn through his navy blue plumage and knobbly talons, and one of Demetrio and Violeta's inner circle birds, issued the others a reminder of who they were looking for.

"Remember folks," he said, carrying some sort of lantern on a stick, "We are looking for a burly scarlet macaw, male with a muscular build, vermillion feathers and a flat sheet of feathers on the back of his head."

The lantern was a woven leaf ball containing some fireflies attached by a vine to a stick which the night time patroller sometimes used when searching for lost tribe or clan members. Violeta's grandfather had been the one to devise the idea after seeing the artificial lights humans used to navigate through the jungle at night. Since then, firefly lanterns had been used during night-time searches. Some of the other macaws in the patrol group also had these firefly lanterns. Lewin, Luis and Franco then searched a patch of ferns, Lewin carrying one of the firefly lanterns to provide light for the other two to see the dark patch easily, but found nothing there. Lewin was still in disbelief over Jupiter's demise.

"I still can't believe that that psychotic cockatoo would do such a thing to Ruby's family," he murmured, "The chances of any macaw or non-water bird coming out of a stream of rushing water alive is pretty slim."

"Yeah, absolutely, especially if the flow is choppy," said Luis.

"But at least we have been sent out to keep an eye out for Jupiter in case he did make it out of that stream alive," said Franco, "One of Eduardo's patrol groups has started from where Zephyr and Venus had indicated was where Jupiter and this cockatoo had fallen into the stream and they had searched it as much as possible but could not find anything."

"That stream forks and one of its branches runs into flying fox territory," said Luis. Then a dreadful thought hit him.

"What is it?" asked Lewin. Franco also gazed at the great green macaw. Luis shot them a dark look.

"What if he might have been carried by that stream to the flying fox territory?" he asked. At this, Franco and Lewin's faces fell as their hopes of finding Jupiter began to flow out like sand. Suddenly, a voice of one of the hyacinth macaws, a female, jolted the three out of their thoughts.

"Guys," she called through the dark clutter of vegetation, also carrying a firefly lantern on a stick, "I think we may have found who we are looking for."

At this, Lewin, Luis and Franco looked at each other and flew over to the female hyacinth macaw who was accompanied by two blue-throated macaws.

"What is it, Gloria," asked Leonel as a flurry of flapping wings filled the dark air as the other patrol group members flew over. As soon as the other patrol groups had gathered round, Gloria shone the firefly lantern over the face of a limp body of a macaw. It had vermillion feathers, a flat sheet of feathers on the back of his head and it was a large, burly macaw. Lewin and Luis immediately recognised this macaw. They had seen him with Ruby and their four chicks while they were on an outing with Uranus and his family in their territory and had waved to him.

"That's it," said Lewin, "That's Jupiter."

At this, the group let loose a small cheer that they have finally found who they were looking for. From a nearby bush, a few pairs of eyes peered at the group of macaws. These eyes were awash with gladness that Jupiter had been found for the macaws seemed to know him. Then with a few exchanges of glances at each other as they shared their happiness on a task complete, the cloaked figures left their hiding place, so silently that Leonel's patrol group did not notice them. Next, Leonel checked Jupiter's breathing and pulse.

"He's alive," he said, "But he's unconscious. Let's take him to Felipe's tribe's home."

And with that, he opened his large wings, wrapped his talons around Jupiter's wings and prepared to carry him to Felipe's tribe's territory. Then a few seconds later, Leonel's group had taken off for Felipe's patch, the unconscious Jupiter in tow.

 **The red tribe's home patch**

Ruby and Pearl were perched outside the hole to Cherie's home, watching as Cherie tucked Io and Europa to bed. The four chicks were being shared between Cherie and Tito, with Ganymede and Callisto staying in Tito's hollow not too far away. Ruby watched as Cherie said goodnight to Europa and kissed her on the forehead and sighed. Since Jupiter's plunging into the stream with Nigel, the four chicks had been on edge throughout the afternoon and into the night. Because of this, all four siblings had been too restless to settle down. This was one of the reasons why they had been put under the temporary care of Cherie and Tito as Ruby was too swamped with negative emotions and heartbreak over Jupiter's loss to care for the chicks at the moment. Overhead, the sky was cloudy and the moon and stars were screened from view, but small flashes of thunder loomed in the distance, implying another thunderstorm.

"Those two, and Ganymede and Callisto as well, have been awake WELL past the time they should be in bed, Pearl," murmured Ruby wearily. The pressure release through her sobbing had made her feel better but the heartbreak over Jupiter's loss still remained on her heart. But then Ruby felt an utter wave of disgust.

"At least Nigel will be enjoying his accomplishment of inflicting this deep wound on us by doing this to Jupiter," she growled bitterly.

"Nigel will be enjoying this?" asked Pearl in confusion.

"He was that infamously sadistic cockatoo who loved to torture exotic birds, Pearl," said Ruby, "I haven't told you much about him, have I?"

Pearl shook her head to confirm it, so Ruby began to explain what Nigel's involvement in the events of the past two days had been about.

"Nigel used to be a star bird until a parakeet replaced him, leading him to detest exotic birds and join a group of smugglers so that he could take his wrath out o0n them by abusing them. He actually enjoys abusing those poor birds. Anyway, during the past few days, Nigel wanted to devastate Venus and Mercury and their chicks by killing Zephyr and Sapphire respectively like how he had done to them when he killed their families when they were only a few months old. Also, he wanted revenge on Blu and Jewel for crippling his ability to fly. I haven't met him that much but based on Blu's account of that cockatoo's following him and his family into the Amazon, it seems that revenge had been on his mind even before he met those poachers. Anyway, when Nigel's plans didn't go according to plan, Nigel eventually lost his temper and his mind, and as a consequence, a few of us suffered. Several of our cat and dog friends back in Rio had been at the mercy of that cockatoo's wrath and as a result got injured: one of our cat friends has suffered a broken bone in his paw while trying to protect Carla, Bia and Tiago while we were out and the intruders attacked, and his mother and one of our greyhound friends have been badly injured…"

Pearl winced when Ruby mentioned what had happened to Broccoli. "That cockatoo must have been some barbaric piece of work," she said.

"He was," murmured Ruby, "He absolutely was. He was completely obsessed with revenge till the very end," Ruby then gazed at Io and Europa as they slept in the nest in Cherie's hollow, Cherie looking over them. As Ruby told Pearl about Nigel, she felt the burden on her heart lighten. "But I believe Nigel will have devastated countless exotic birds he has tortured and abused during his time as a smuggler's cockatoo. Sadly, Mercury and Venus had been two of them. I just hope I and my chicks are the last ones to be devastated…"

"Oh, Ruby," murmured Pearl sympathetically. A tear then ran down Ruby's cheek as she felt like crying again. Suddenly, the two sisters were jolted by a loud squawk that shattered the quiet, followed by a flurry of many wings and a few shouts. At this, they looked into the night air and saw many shadowy figures of macaws flying out of their home hollows and converging to a specific spot. At this, Ruby looked at Pearl while Cherie poked her head out of her hollow.

"What's going on?" asked Cherie.

"I don't know but it sounds serious," said Ruby and with that, she and Pearl opened their wings and took off. Cherie, at this, looked back at Io and Europa in the nest before following the two sisters. In the hollow belonging to the red tribe's leaders, Felipe emerged from the entrance when he heard a loud squawk. He had just put his chicks Benjamin, Regina and Alfonso to bed and had come out to gaze at the night hanging over his tribe's home when he was alerted by the noise. Then next, he heard the flurry of many wings and saw the shadows of some of his tribe members fly and converge to a specific spot. Then he heard someone shout, "Someone get Felipe, and Ruby and Pearl! Jupiter's been found!"

At this, the tribe patriarch froze and listened to the shout. The moment he heard the name 'Jupiter', hope flared within him and he opened his wings and took off. At the point where the red tribe converged, some shadowy figures carrying balls of light on sticks approached the group of scarlet and green-winged macaws. It were Leonel and his group and in Leonel's talons was a bundle of vermillion, teal and yellow feathers and muscle. As the scarlet and green-winged macaws touched down on the branches nearest to Leonel and his group, Leonel gently placed Jupiter onto a large branch. As soon as he had done this, the aged hyacinth macaw backed away and stood with his patrol group, including Franco from the blue-throated macaw clan and Lewin and Luis from the green tribe. Then seconds later, Felipe's voice sounded.

"Excuse me, out of my way, thanks," he said to his tribe members and they all parted to let him through. Felipe then landed beside Jupiter who wearily gazed back at him with half-open eyes. The moment he saw that the missing scarlet macaw was alive; Felipe pulled Jupiter into a tight and relieved hug just as Ruby and Pearl appeared. When she saw her mate alive and well, Ruby cried, "Jupiter!"

At this, Jupiter looked up after breaking the hug with Felipe who moved out of the way. "Ruby?" he moaned tiredly. At this, he was pulled into a tight hug with his relieved mate. Ruby had never felt so relieved in such a long time. As she hugged him, Ruby's eyes streamed with tears while the red macaws congratulated Leonel and his patrol group.

"Where did you find him?" asked Felipe, "I-I-I thought he fell into a stream."

"We found him in a patch of ferns in the jungle," said Leonel, "How he ended up there is anybody's guess but at least we've found him."

"We're gonna have to let the other tribe and clan leaders know that Jupiter has been found and get them to call their patrol groups back," said Lewin.

"Right, you do that and we'll take care of Jupiter," said Felipe, "Thank you so much for bringing him back to us."

And with that, he shared a hug with Leonel and then with some of the other patrol members including Lewin, Luis and Franco. Pearl then came in and thanked them as did Ruby. Then after receiving more thank-yous from some more red macaws as well as goodnights, Leonel took off and led the patrol group away into the darkness and towards the territory of the green macaw tribe to drop off the green macaws first. Jupiter looked up as the macaws left but he was soon pulled into a passionate kiss by Ruby. This jolted him out of his tiredness and made him realise where he was. After Ruby broke the kiss with him, Jupiter began to look around.

"Where am I?" he asked.

"You're back in our tribe's home," said Ruby, tears of relief streaming down her face. At this, Jupiter shook his head in disbelief. But then he began to shudder as the dam holding the shock of being bowled into by Nigel and dropped into the stream began to break by a flood of memories of the deranged cockatoo's murderous face, the swirling water and his floundering in the current. Furthermore, his muscles were aching and his feathers were still wet though not sodden.

"You need to be taken to our tribe nurses to be checked over now," said Pearl firmly. Jupiter, at this, tried to get up but Felipe stopped him.

"No, we'll carry you there," he said, "I can see you're exhausted and you might be too exhausted to fly."

"Actually," said Jupiter, "My muscles are aching, especially those in my legs…"

"I wouldn't be surprised," said Pearl, "You must have struggled against the current of that stream and perhaps had to fly super-fast to get out of those deranged bats' territory since that branch of the stream leads right into their turf…"

Jupiter, at this, widened his eyes but then tiredness swamped him and he fell back down against the branch. Felipe nodded to some macaws nearby.

"Take him to the tribe nurses," he said. The macaws obeyed, flew over to Jupiter and gently picked him up. Soon, Jupiter was carried away in the direction of the tribe nurses' hollow. Ruby followed closely behind. Then the shouts of four young chicks sounded. "Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad!" At this, Ruby turned and saw Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto flit towards Jupiter with Cherie and Tito close behind. The latter two must have awakened them with the good news and now the four chicks were eager to see their father again. However, they were stopped by Felipe and some of the other macaws.

"Wait until he's in the tribe nurses' hollow, my four nieces and nephew," he said firmly. At this, the four chicks obeyed and flew over to Ruby. Then moments later, Jupiter was taken into the hollow of the tribe nurses and placed onto a bed of moss by his carriers. After this, the macaws stood back to allow Felipe, Ruby, Pearl, and Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto in. Four of the tribe nurses, one of which was named Tomas, a green-winged macaw and the leader of the medical group, came forward to assess Jupiter. Jupiter then tiredly looked up at them. When he saw Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto rush towards him, he shakily raised a wing and shared a hug with them. However, the hug didn't last long.

"Come on, kids," said Pearl gently, "You need to leave your father to be treated and to get some rest."

"Yes," said Felipe, "It's way past your bed time, anyway."

At this, the four chicks gave their father one final gaze. Io breathed a relieved sigh and left. Then Europa whispered a, "I love you, Daddy. Glad that you have been brought back," and followed her sister. Ganymede then followed and Callisto paused to look at Jupiter one last time before finally leaving. After this, Ruby and Pearl followed them. Only Felipe remained and he stayed behind for a little longer as Tomas and the other three examined Jupiter. After a little while, Tomas gave the report on Jupiter's health.

"He's very tired, got fatigued muscles," said Tomas, "And also a healed cut on his leg. He's also shaken but he'll be fine."

"He may have to stay here for a couple of days at least," said a female tribe nurse, a scarlet macaw. Felipe then walked over to Jupiter as his eyes then slid shut as tiredness had overtaken him once again.

"He should get some rest anyway," whispered the scarlet macaw patriarch, "I'll come back in the morning with Ruby and his kids. Till, then, look after him."

Tomas and the other three tribe nurses nodded and with that, Felipe left the hollow and returned to his own hollow, leaving the four tribe nurses to look after Jupiter, who was now asleep, for the night.


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37- ending and epilogue**

A few weeks had passed since Lysandre's group had been arrested and taken to Manaus to be dealt with by the authorities and their falcons and crows taken away to be shipped to Europe and released into a protected nature reserve there, things slowly returned to normal. Since the incident with the poachers, Tulio had had the security surrounding both the Blu Bird Sanctuary in Rio and the Sanctuary de Amazon out in the Amazon rainforest tightened and all the ecologists had been required to get licences to reduce the chances of poachers sneaking into the Sanctuary de Amazon to illegally poach birds again. As the weeks passed, Blu, Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Pluto and all their families stayed in Rio for the rest of the summer, though Venus and her family, despite the weight of grief of Tornado's death hanging over Zephyr especially had returned to Rio to tell their friends of the news that Jupiter was alive, much to everyone's gladness and joy. Things have improved for Veggie, Dash and their families, and Susan and Lucy as well. Susan and Lucy's house had been fully repaired and Tulio had generously helped the two sisters with the repair costs. Ginger's pregnancy was well on and her and Dash's second brood of puppies were soon to be born. As for their older litter, two had been sold to owners: James had been sold to the owners of Pelusa the Shih Tzu and Nevado the Persian cat after seeing how much James liked their pets, and Avellana had been sold to a family who lived on the other side of the city. Esperanza had recovered from Nigel's savage attack but the ordeal had scarred her, and Eduarda's scratch had healed. Broccoli's paw had also fully recovered and he was able to walk again, but, like Esperanza, Broccoli had been scarred by Nigel. It took him weeks to get his damaged confidence back. Things were indeed improving for everyone, though there was one more tragedy: Catina had died from an infection as a result of Nigel's savage attack on her. Veggie, Broccoli, Thomas, Daisy and Collette and the others had grieved the loss of their mate, mother and friend, and Veggie had chosen not to find another mate to have any more kittens due to the uncertainty of how they would mix with his bird friends. After all, cats and most birds did not often mix, and Veggie had hoped that his two sons and two daughters would be sold to loving owners soon.

While things had improved for Blu and company, Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa had settled back into their birdhouse and the three sulfur-crested/Major Mitchell's hybrids had managed to make friends with other cockatoos in the city. Furthermore, Travis and his family, together with Blu and the other macaws, spent some of the summer trip with Rafael and Eva, Nico and Pedro and some other friends, including Cometa and her new friend Lightning. In the Sanctuary de Amazon in the red macaw tribe's territory, Jupiter, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto continued to spend the rest of the summer in their Amazon home. Jupiter had fully recovered from his traumatic ordeal with Nigel, and like Broccoli and Esperanza, he had been left with a scar carved into him: he had developed an aversion to rushing water. Though Jupiter did not mind flying over a rushing river, he always kept his distance from it as it brought back terrible memories of his ordeal with Nigel including his barbaric look on his bloodied face, those deranged brown eyes and the iron grip around his neck as the cockatoo attempted to drown him. Furthermore, Jupiter had had something else on his mind. What was that mysterious group with the three flying foxes and that group of birds, among them some Cuban red macaws? However, over time, Jupiter eventually put it off, believing it to be a dream or a hallucination from a near-death experience, but based on what Leonel, the elderly hyacinth macaw who had led the patrol group who managed to find him that night, had told him that they had found him in a patch of ferns, that encounter with the mysterious group as being some sort of dream had been open to question. However, Jupiter did not care about that. He was glad to be reunited with his family and friends and looked forward to seeing the others after they had returned to Rio. Furthermore, he had been glad to have shoved Ruby and his chicks out of the way when Nigel had attacked them in his deranged fury. Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto would have died if they fell into that rushing stream had he not taken action.

As for Nigel, his ending had been quite different. Like Jupiter, he had managed to haul himself out of the rushing river too despite his broken wing and so many other injuries and like the scarlet macaw he had attempted to drown; he had been swamped by exhaustion. The following morning after the night of Jupiter's recovery, a group of botanists had found Nigel and had immediately taken him back to Rio to be treated. The whole turn of events had left Nigel in a battered and even worse state than before. The majority of his body was covered in claw marks, and his face looked like he had been in a fight with a cat. His vest was tattered and torn and he was missing his distinctive crest entirely. However, these injuries and the loss of his crest, as well as a near-death experience from losing so much blood had not even changed Nigel much and his gloating over tearing Jupiter's family apart had never left him despite his close brush with death. However, he was soon to face even more humiliation, especially at the mercy of his former hench-frog Gabi and her immense affections for him, but it seemed to have been magnified when Gabi saw the change ion Nigel, especially his lack of a crest. As soon as he was back at Tulio's Aviary recovering from his injuries, the moment Gabi, who had been waiting in Tulio's Aviary waiting for his return the entire time, had laid her eyes on the battered cockatoo, her affection for him multiplied by ten times over. She had emitted a piercing scream of swoon, had steam coming out of her ears and had lost all control in her delivery of smooches all over Nigel's face much to his disgust, and Nigel ended up receiving hundreds of smooches from the little frog at a rate of ten to the dozen, much to the immense laughter of the employees and the birds present at Tulio's Aviary. Looks like Nigel will be facing a huge and continuous barrage of Gabi's smooches to his face in the coming days. XD

By the end of the summer period, Blu, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Pluto had their mates and chicks had finally departed from Rio and had returned to the Sanctuary de Amazon. They had received a warm welcome back by their friends in their respective tribes and clans and had reunited with Jupiter. Then soon, life in the Sanctuary de Amazon returned to its normal pace, the macaw tribes and clans safe in the knowledge that their human friends had tightened the security of the place to very greatly reduce, though not completely eliminate, the chances of poachers sneaking into the nature reserve. However, the macaw tribe and clan leaders had issued a heightened awareness to their tribe and clan members and all the birds not part of a tribe or clan to take extreme care around humans just to be safe.

In the Spix macaw tribe's territory, a funeral for Tornado had taken place and his body was buried in a patch where deceased tribe members were buried after they had died, or a remembrance flower or plant had been planted in honour of any macaw that had been stolen away and their body never recovered. Some had been planted for Jewel, Zephyr, Brisa, Tornado and Gael after they had been reported missing after a fire had torn them from the tribe when Jewel, Zephyr and Brisa had been young, and Venus had planted four flowers in this patch as well to commemorate her deceased family. She had planted one flower for her mother Clarinda, one for her father Erico, and the other two for her two sisters. The other macaw tribes and clans also each had a patch in their territory, sort of like a cemetery in a way, where deceased members from their groups had been buried or a plant planted to remember unaccounted for members, and the funeral design was basically similar in design. In the Lear's macaw tribe's territory, Mercury had also planted some plants to commemorate his mother Lola, father Tomas, and three siblings. The atmosphere was emotional for the Spix macaw attendees, especially for Tornado's family. Zephyr, Brisa, Gael who was now a widow, Viento, Nuvem and Venus, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda, Virgil, and were especially fraught with grief and anguish. It was going to be a difficult time for them and the friends of Tornado in the coming weeks. Tornado had been one of the most respected members of the tribe, and had been one of Eduardo's closest friends, so Eduardo and Mimi felt great grief for his loss as well. It truly was a sad time for the Spix macaw tribe but they will eventually get over it and move on but Tornado will always be remembered by everyone.

 **Later**

At the border of the Spix and red macaw tribes' territories, a certain group of Spix and red macaws sat at the Brazil nut grove chatting and eating fruit including a few Brazil nuts. Around them, scarlet, green-winged and Spix macaws flew about, either foraging for food or coming to the border to meet their red macaw friends. Nearby, a few young Spix and red macaws played. Among the group of adults were Zephyr, Venus, Mars, Chiquitita and some of their friends, Cherie and Tito from the red tribe and Nuvem from the Spix macaw tribe and Zephyr and Brisa's cousin. Nearby, Charlotte and , two of Venus and Zephyr's six chicks, played with Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre and some other scarlet, green-winged and Spix macaw chicks. Justin, Matilda and Virgil were back in the ravine with their friends including Carla, Bia and Tiago. They were having a game of air-ball, an aerial equivalent of ground football similar to the games the tribes and clans played in the Pit of Doom. Mars watched on as he sipped some coconut juice from a half coconut shell.

"You know," he said to the others, as he watched Charlotte skilfully dribble the ball past her red opponents, "Zephyr and Venus's daughter certainly has got the knack for playing soccer, hasn't she?"

"She certainly has, Mars," said Zephyr with a smile, "She once told me that she wants to become part of our tribe's Pit of Doom team when she grows up."

He and Nuvem had pretty much got over their grief of losing Tornado but the grief was still there, looming in the background.

"Callisto seems to be excellent at soccer too," said Mars with a smile, sipping from his coconut shell, "I've seen her manage to outmanoeuvre even the most skilled chicks at air-ball once."

Suddenly, the fruit shell used as the ball flew over to Mars. At this, he bopped it away with his head, allowing to catch it and take it back into the area used as an arena. Chiquitita then watched Turquesa as she chased after and kept his back from their red opponents.

"I have noticed that Maximillian's daughter has become closer to your son, Zephyr," she said, "Could they soon be starting a…?"

"They're just friends at the moment," said Zephyr, knowing what Chiquitita was going to say, "They're too young to enter into a relationship at the moment."

"Speaking of relationships, have you heard the news about Roberto and Brisa?" asked Nuvem. The others looked at him with smiles on their beaks.

"They're discussing about becoming mates," said Nuvem.

"Really?" asked Tito with a smile, his wing slung around Cherie.

"Yes," said Venus.

"Well, I'm glad to hear it. Good for them," said Cherie cheerfully, "I hope they do become mates."

"Those two do seem compatible," said Venus, "I look forward to having some nephews and nieces soon."

"And our six chicks will be having some cousins," said Zephyr excitedly, his grief over losing Tornado overridden by this possibility for a brief period. But then the sombre look on his face returned.

"We heard about the death of your father," said Tito with sympathy, "It must have been tragic…"

"How did he end up mortally wounded during our fight with the poachers, anyway?" asked Cherie.

"He got badly scratched by one of the falcons," said Zephyr, "And then some crows attacked him later. Tulio and his team were unable to save him in time."

He then bowed his head as the grief over losing his father welled. Venus put a wing around his back, remembering her own grief over the loss of her family. Then Nuvem moved onto something else.

"By the way, how are Jupiter and his family?" he asked. His face fell. "It must have been a horrible ordeal he must have faced when this Nigel cockatoo tackled him and they both fell into the stream."

"They're doing alright," said Mars, "However, Jupiter once told us something rather confusing. It was something about some flying foxes with a group of birds…"

"A group of flying foxes with a group of birds?" repeated Zephyr in wonder. Then he shook it off.

"It must have been a hallucination or dream or something," he said, "We've never heard of any of those flying furballs that are friends with any birds of the Amazon…"

"Definitely," said Venus. Nuvem nodded in agreement.

"He might have managed to escape the stream and fly to here only to pass out from exhaustion," said Chiquitita, "That's my theory, anyway. Leonel and his patrol group just told us that they had found him in a patch of ferns that other night and that was it."

Then Zephyr, Venus and Nuvem gazed into the direction of the red tribe's territory, seeing the flashes of red, blue, turquoise, green and yellow of the scarlet and green-winged macaws through the trees.

"But at least Jupiter is safe and sound now," said Zephyr with a sigh. The others nodded in agreement. At this moment, above the trees of Felipe's tribe's home patch and the busy red macaws as they flew about, a certain pair of scarlet macaws and their chicks flew around the patchily blue sky and sun. One was a vermillion male with a muscular build and the other was a darker red female and there were four chicks. Ruby and Jupiter, together with Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, danced together in the air. Jupiter and Ruby stopped into a hover and nuzzled beaks, before flying together and began to playfully chase their chicks. The family was glad to be together again and it was clear that Jupiter will be alive to see his three daughters and son grow up and possibly have chicks of their own, but that is another story.

 **That's it. That's the end of this story. I am impressed how this story had turned out, and I feel that it is better than the previous version without Brutus involved. And believe it or not, this chapter and story is my last and final chapter and story of 2016, finished just before Christmas. Stay tuned for a possible sequel coming soon.**

 **MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!**

 **VPVPVP**


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